Success for WCMC-Q graduates during annual Match Day

After graduation the new doctors will be heading off for residencies in institutions like Cleveland Clinic Foundation, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

The next generation of doctors has learned where they will spend the next chapter of their lives following the annual Match Day event.

Match Day is when 40,000 graduating medical students from around the world find out if they have been successful in applying for approximately 25,000 residency positions in the U.S. At WCMC-Q on March 20, 39 future medics announced where they would be heading next for their residency programs, when they begin training in their chosen specialty.

In all, 32 of 33 of the students who entered the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) also known as “the Match” will go to the U.S. to such internationally renowned institutions as Cleveland Clinic Foundation, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Seven have chosen to continue their training in Qatar at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC). Qatari Mohamed Al-Hajri is one of those and will begin his residency training in radiology at HMC.

Mohamed said that he had spent time working at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and at HMC during his time at WCMC-Q and thought there were both advantages and disadvantages of training in the U.S. and in Qatar. Ultimately, however, he wanted to remain close to his family. He explained his decision to choose a residency in radiology.

He said: “I worked in many departments in HMC, and radiology was one of the strongest in terms of education and the cases that you see. In addition, I like technology, and radiology offers that facet more than any other field. I am particularly interested in interventional radiology. I saw one procedure and it was magnificent, combining surgery, diagnostics and therapeutics. It was like surgery but not as physically invasive as you use CT scans and MRIs to guide you through the anatomy; it’s like a 3D map.”

Match Day marks the culmination of four years of medical training for WCMC-Q’s students, who will graduate in May.

Dr. Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q, said the Class of 2015 had shown commitment, hard work and talent to become physicians.

Dr. Sheikh said: “We will soon be saying goodbye to these students as they embark on the next stage of their career, some in Qatar and some overseas. Myself, the college’s faculty and staff are confident that they will be wonderful ambassadors for WCMC-Q, and that they will show the same aptitude and drive as they have over the last four years. If I can give them one piece of advice, it would be to retain their curiosity of the world and to never stop seeking knowledge.

“I wish each and every one of them the very best of luck.”