The M.D. Class of 2025 from thew88 slot, Reno School of Medicine(UNR Med) celebrated receiving their residency program assignments onMatch Day, Friday, March 21, 2025. Students, family and friends gathered along with UNR Med faculty, community partners and Renown leadership at the Reno Sparks Convention Center, where they were welcomed with this year’s surprise theme: SpongeBob SquarePants!
Students at UNR Med joined tens of thousands of other graduating medical students across the country to learn where they will be continuing their journey as practicing physicians. UNR Med is unique in that Match Day is always a themed event, complete with tablescapes, decorations, and reveal items – this year, a personalized treasure chest – as well as a customized parody song and slideshow.
The students gathered their treasure chests and returned to their tables, listening to remarks by Dean Paul J. Hauptman, M.D., Associate Dean of Student Affairs Cherie Singer, M.D., and Senior Associate Dean of Academic AffairsNeda Etezadi-Amoli, M.D.The anticipation in the room was palpable as the room sang along to “Best Match Ever” and awaited the countdown to 9 a.m.
“There is no more memorable day in medical education than Match Day,” shared Dean Hauptman, M.D., “the culmination of nearly four years of dedication, hard work and perseverance. Congratulations on a job well done. Go forward to internship, residency and beyond. Make us proud. Serve your patients and be a shining light in a most wonderful avocation: as a medical doctor.”
This year, 20% of students will remain in w88 slot for some portion of their Graduate Medical Education (GME) training, including three students in UNR Med residencies - two in psychiatry and behavioral sciences and one in family medicine. Additionally, 25% of UNR Med’s matched students will train in primary care and mental health, which includes family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry and OB-GYN.
Students also matched into elite programs across the country including the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University, University of Southern California, University of California, Los Angeles, Washington University, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Duke University. Dakota Johnson, a first-generation college student, matched into his first-choice residency program at Vanderbilt University, where he will pursue emergency medicine.
"This is something I have been working towards since 2017 when I first became a scribe in the Emergency Department at Renown,” shared Johnson. “I knew ever since then that emergency medicine was right for me, and getting to this point almost ten years later is absolutely unreal."
Dakota Johnson pins his residency location at Vanderbilt University on the Match Day map.Residency location strongly influences physician practice location, affecting the availability of health care professionals in an area. UNR Med has four residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and is actively working to expand residency offerings in the state.
Competition for residency and fellowship positions is facilitated through “The Match.” TheNational Resident Matching Program(NRMP) announced that 2025 was the largest in the 73-year history of the Match, with over 52,000 applicants competing for one of 42,237 available positions. The NRMP receives preference lists from applicants and program directors, and a Nobel Prize winning algorithm matches student and program interest, with a bias toward favoring the student’s choice. This year, 79.8% of applicants matched with a program they are committed to training with beginning in June.
There is also a special feature of Match for married students – the “couples match” where complicated algorithms balance the training objectives of two students, usually with different specialty choices, who want to end up in the same hospital or at least the same city. This year, three couples from UNR Med received their program assignments in the couples’ match.
One couple, Andrew and Kallie Cobourn, matched at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri where Andrew will pursue emergency medicine while Kallie practices OB-GYN, two of the most popular residency specialties nationwide. “I don’t even know if I have words yet,” shared Kallie, “it feels a little bit surreal – we’re moving to Missouri!” Andrew and Kallie both reflected on all the time spent to get to this point, highlighting the mentorship and education from community faculty throughout their journey.
“I have an amazing mentor here with a local emergency medical group, and she has been such a positive impact on my life,” Andrew said. “All the shadow shifts I got to work with her really changed who I am as a student and what I want to be as a physician. The ability to have role models like that really impacts your education."
Andrew and Kallie Cobourn pose with their treasure chests before the big reveal.The total specialty breakdown of student matches includes:
- Eight in anesthesiology.
- Seven in emergency medicine.
- Five in pediatrics.
- Four in psychiatry.
- Four in internal medicine.
- Three each in family medicine, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery and transitional year.
- Two each in dermatology, general surgery and obstetrics and gynecology.
- One each in neurological surgery, physical medicine and rehab, radiology diagnostic, urology and preliminary positions.
The full list of Match Day results with residency programs and specialties of the Class of 2025 areposted on the Match Day website.
