REELING IN A RESIDENCY YOUNG DOCTORS PAIRED WITH HOSPITALS ON MATCH DAY.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer It was a day of champagne, cigars and tears - some happy, some sad. Thursday was Match Day, when fourth-year medical students around the country learn where they will spend their medical residencies, a three- to seven-year commitment decided by a computer. For David Cohen For other persons named David Cohen, see David Cohen (disambiguation). David Cohen (November 13, 1914 - October 3, 2005), was an American politician, noted for his service in the administration of President Franklin D. of Calabasas - one of more than 300 medical students at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , or the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission who peered into plain white envelopes to learn their fates - it was time to celebrate. Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. , 28, found he was accepted to the internal medicine/pediatrics residency program at New York's prestigious Mount Sinai Hospital Mount Sinai Hospital can refer to:
``Oh, my God!'' Season gasped. All around, other students let out screams and shrieks of delight. Some whipped out cell phones to call relatives. Others lighted cigars or accepted flutes of champagne. Still others, unable to eat all morning, nibbled on muffins. ``For the most part, it's very exciting and uplifting. It's the culmination of things that they have been working for for years and years,'' said Dr. Peter J. Katsufrakis, associate dean for student affairs Student affairs staff are responsible for academic advising and support services delivery at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. The chief student affairs officer at a college or university often reports directly to the chief executive of the institution. at USC's Keck School of Medicine. ``For many, they've achieved a life-long dream.'' Still, some of these high-achievers weren't up to champagne - or muffins. ``For a few, it's an incredible disappointment,'' Katsufrakis said. ``Maybe they didn't get their top choice, but got their third choice. It may be an excellent program, but for that moment it feels like a failure or loss. ``Medical students are so accomplished and capable. The one thing they're not good at - because they don't have any practice with it - is failure.'' Every year, nearly 16,000 medical school seniors and 15,000 medical school graduates compete for 24,000 residency positions. They interview with dozens of residency programs in the fall and winter, then register with the National Resident Matching Program About the NRMP The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) is a private, non-profit corporation established in 1952 to provide a uniform date of appointment to positions in graduate medical education (GME) in the United States. Each year, approximately 16,000 U.S. , which does the computerized matches. Once students are matched with institutions, they are committed to working there unless they obtain waivers. For three of those matched - USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. medical students Biana Lurye, 25, of Tarzana and Cohen, 28; and UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX medical student Alma Lopez, 25, of Northridge - the day was one of triumph and giddy excitement. Cohen, who taught science for a year at Frost Middle School in Granada Hills before going to medical school, had considered a number of specialties, but in the end decided against surgery. ``I'd rather spend a lifetime taking care of someone with high blood pressure than fix a hernia,'' he said. ``I wanted to have a career where I had a lifelong relationship with my patients that didn't just end after a surgery or a diagnosis or after they turned a certain age.'' Season, 26, has just completed her clinical doctorate in psychology, so she can move with him. Her focus is on adolescents with chronic illnesses, and she and Cohen dream of someday opening a clinic together. Nearby, Lurye wiped away tears as she told her mother the good news over the phone. She, too, got her first choice, a UCLA residency in anesthesiology anesthesiology (ăn'ĭsthē'zēŏl`əjē), branch of medicine concerned primarily with procedures for rendering patients insensitive to pain, and for supporting life systems under the strains of anesthesia and surgery. . ``My mom started to cry, so it's making me cry,'' Lurye said, smiling. ``This is so awesome. It's the best program in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, .'' Lurye, who was born in Tiraspol, Moldova, in the former Soviet Union and moved to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. at the age of 10, chose anesthesiology as her specialty because she didn't want to be cooped up in an office seeing a never-ending stream of patients. ``You're the face (the patient) sees last before they go to sleep, and it's your job to make them as calm as possible and take care of them during the whole case,'' she said. ``It's a lot of responsibility, but you really feel good when they wake up and they didn't have any problems.'' At UCLA, Alma Lopez was thrilled to learn she, too, got her first choice and would be spending the next three years in a family medicine residency at White Memorial Medical Center in East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. . ``Until you have the proof in your hands. ... There's nothing like it,'' she said, sighing. ``I know I'm going to be very happy there, doing what I always wanted to.'' Doctors and hospitals have been a part of her life since she was 7 and her father, Jaime Lopez Jaime López (15th century) was a Spanish painter, active during the early-Renaissance period. He was surnamed El Muño. He was born in Madrid. He decorated the Hermitage of our Lady of Prado. , suffered brain damage from a stroke. ``I've learned how it is to be a patient and the patient's family,'' Lopez said. ``It's difficult to have a family member who's chronically ill, and it's easy (for the doctor) to lose sight of that. It's not just the individual; it's a dynamic involving the family members.'' Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) Dana Season, 26, gasps with joy at news her boyfriend, David Cohen, 28, got a residency at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. Alma Lopez, 25, left, pumps a hand at getting a residency at White Memorial Medical Center in East Los Angeles. (3) After learning she got the UCLA residency in anesthesiology that she craved, USC medical student Biana Lurye, 25, of Tarzana, tells her mother the good news on the phone. Soon Lurye was smiling through tears of delight. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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