I met Sam* in the OR a few years ago. A polite surgical technician in his early 30s, we’d often chat after work.
Sam obtained his medical degree from a school in Eastern Europe prior to immigrating to the United States. Now he spends his days cleaning surgical instruments and his nights working in a restaurant.
“Someday I’ll be a surgeon, just like you,” he says to me.
How did this happen? Sam had a bad Match Day.
Medical training in the U.S. involves four years of medical school followed by 3 to 6 years of residency training. International graduates must also attend residency in the U.S. if they wish to practice here.
On Match Day, graduating medical students learn which residency program they’ll be joining. Residency determines a physician’s field of medicine. For a young doctor to become a pediatrician, for example, he or she must complete a pediatric residency.
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