When the countdown began, Skyler Thipaphay had his red envelope ready and ripped it open to reveal his dream — to be able to do his residency here in Amarillo at Family Medicine for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC).
There were tears and cheers on Friday morning, March 20 as TTUHSC School of Medicine students opened the letters that could hold the key to the rest of their careers during the annual Match Day, held locally at Hodgetown Stadium in Amarillo.
Excitement was in the air as families and students filed into the Sod Poodles’ home stadium and meeting room upstairs. More than 47 students in Amarillo were getting their “marching papers,” telling where they would be doing their residency, after a long period of not only studying, but also interviewing and filling out paperwork and going through hard work and determination to achieve their dream of a career in medicine.
Students are required first to finish medical school, and then comes their residency, which can vary in length depending on their specialty. The students first go to medical school for two years in Lubbock and then two years at the Amarillo campus.
Brian Weis, regional dean from the TTUHSC School of Medicine, explained the process and the meaning of the day.
“This is the biggest day of the year for us,” he said. “This is when all our senior students find out where they’re going to go for their residence program — where they train for their specialty. They all find out at the same time across the nation, when they open an envelope that tells them where they’re matched.”
Weis said that the students start their fourth year of medical school and have to decide what specialty they want to go into. Then, they start applying for different programs. There are interviews for eight months, he said.
“The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) coordinates the process and makes the final match algorithm, which is designed to produce results for students to fill the thousands of training positions available at U.S. teaching hospitals,” he said.
This year, School of Medicine students in Amarillo matched to locations as close as Oklahoma City and as far away as Minneapolis. Some students, including Pampa native Bethany Rohrbach, will remain at TTUHSC in Amarillo for residency training, according to information provided by the university.
“I knew I was interested in primary care and rural medicine, and I loved how these things are such a big focus at TTUHSC,” Rohrbach said. “I want to help patients improve their health and quality of life and provide health care close to home for those in a more rural setting.”
In total, of the 47 students matched into residency programs from the Amarillo TTUHSC campus, 40% will stay in Texas for their residencies, and 49% of them will go into primary care residencies.
Of the 180 School of Medicine students who matched across all TTUHSC campuses, an estimated 23% matched at one of the TTUHSC-affiliated residency programs; 63% are remaining in Texas; and 47% of the students matched to a primary care-affiliated residency program.
Other student matches included 36 in family medicine, 10 in OB/GYN, 31 in internal medicine, 9 in pediatrics and 10 students in psychiatry.
Weis said the class of 2026 demonstrates particularly broad interest in fields across the medicine spectrum; students applied to nearly every residency type.
PDHS graduate plans to give back to community that supported him
Thipaphay, who will stay in Amarillo for his residency, said that he was proud to represent Palo Duro High School where there aren’t as many resources as some other schools.
“I grew up in a place where opportunity was rare to come by,” he said. “So, whenever you get that opportunity, you have to make the most of it. I grew up with a lot of refugees and a lot of people that are deserving … that’s what inspired me and showed me what great really was.”
“I really want to show up for my people on the northside, and open a clinic there where I can be a family medicine physician,” Thipaphay added. “I really want to take care of the people who took care of me.”
The medical student said that his father worked at Tyson and his mother works at WICs, and without them, his success would not be possible. Thipaphay said that his advice to others was to “keep grinding and look for opportunities, find what’s out there for you.” He said that his brother was in his first year of medical school. “A lot of students come from families of doctors or medical background, so they are a lot more prepared,” he said.
Thipaphay said he went to West Texas A&M University and was West Texas born and raised. “I went to WT, and it is just as good as anywhere,” he said. “I just really focused and grinded away. I also went to Amarillo College, and some other students went to big schools like Harvard.”
Student’s dream for Johns Hopkins residency comes true
“I’m excited and feeling a ton of emotions,” another student, Jaylyn Robinson said. “But they’re all good.”
Before she opened her envelope at Match Day, Robinson said she was happy with everyone she interviewed with, so she would be happy with the outcome.
The young medical student said she had interviewed at University of Texas, Southwester, Utah and all over. “We’ve been waiting on our tiptoes trying to figure out where we’re going to go,” she said.
Robinson said the best part of the process was meeting other people from other medical schools and a “ton of other doctors you wouldn’t normally interact with during interviews.”
She said her dream job was to work in academics to continue to teach the next generation.
When she opened her envelope and found out her residency would be at Johns Hopkins, she burst into tears as her family around her hugged her and congratulated her.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Tears, cheers at Match Day for med students learning destinations
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
