Twins William and Raphael "Rafi" Karkowsky have always shared life's best moments.

That was true again Friday when the brothers and best friends learned where they would begin their careers as doctors.

They were among nearly 16,000 medical students nationwide who opened Match Day letters and learned where they would conduct postgraduate study. More than 95 percent of students were matched with residency positions, the highest rate in 30 years, according to the National Resident Match Program.

The students enter medicine as health care reform could transform the industry and medical schools grapple with the expected shortage of doctors in years to come.

The brothers both wanted residencies in internal medicine, an increasingly popular choice among medical students, given the growing focus on primary care.

Raphael was on the phone with his girlfriend as he opened his letter among a small group of friends at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He was matched in internal medicine with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, his third choice after Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston and Cornell University in New York.

"It was my favorite program, but not my top choice, so I'm actually happy with it, because the computer knew better than me where I should end up going," Rafi said. "It worked out for the best."

William took a deep breath before he and his wife, Hasya Pearlman, opened his letter together as his parents watched. The University of Maryland School of Medicine student was paired in internal medicine with the University of Chicago, his first choice. He beamed and kissed his wife repeatedly and seemed at a loss for words.

"I am pretty happy," he said later. "I got my first choice."

The 59-year-old Match Day program is designed as a fair way to assign students to residencies, where they will further their training for the next three to seven years.

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Medical students find out residencies at Match Day

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Posted on March 16, 2012 at 5:54 PM

Meg Farris / Eyewitness News Email: mfarris@wwltv.com | Twitter: @megfarriswwl

NEWORLEANS - At the exact same time, at every medical school in the country, graduating seniors got an envelope announcing where they will spend the next five years of their lives training in an internship and residency program.

On Friday, graduates from LSU Medical School and Tulane Medical School each gathered at locations near the Morial Convention Center with their families to see if they got their first choices for the hospital and specialty they want to train in.

Amidst cheers from all the medical students, faculty doctors called out each student name by name.

One senior opened his envelope in front of our cameras, and saw he was going to Oregon.

"That was my first choice. I got my first choice for everything. So I've got to go talk to my family," he said running off in excitement.

At the LSU Medical School match, 108 out of 171 graduating seniors will stay in Louisiana to get their residency training. LSU doctors say the promise of a new teaching hospital is critical.

"It's just like a carpenter. You need a hammer and a nails to build a house. I need a first class hospital so these students can train and become the doctors that are going to take care of you and me," said Dr. Steve Nelson, Dean of the LSU Medical School.

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Medical students matched with their residency programs, many to stay in La.

Newswise BOSTON (March 16, 2012) Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) matched 22 medical school students, or 12% percent of its graduating class, to residency programs in family medicine. This is the largest number of matches ever in family medicine at Tufts, more than double the average percentage of the previous three years, and approximately four percentage points above the national average of students matching in family medicine.

Health-care reform is occurring at the fastest pace since the introduction of Medicare in the 1960s, and increasing the number of primary care physicians is key to achieving the nations goal of improving access to care, improving the nations health, and controlling health-care costs. The Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Workforce Studies predicts that there will be a shortage of 45,000 primary care physicians in the next decade. The Massachusetts Medical Societys 2011 Physician Workforce Study reported severe physician shortages in internal and family medicine, both primary care specialties, for the sixth consecutive year.

In response to the physician shortage, TUSM expanded its class size in 2009. That same year, TUSM partnered with Maine Medical Center on a program that provides students with experience in rural practice as well as training in a major tertiary medical center. Earlier this year, Tufts announced the launch of a new physician assistant, or physician-extender, program to assist physicians in providing access to care.

Another core step was redeveloping our curriculum to focus students on taking a patient-centered approach, a core value of primary care. In this patient-centered model, students begin interviewing patients in the community in their first week of medical school and progress on to a year-long apprenticeship with a primary care physician. This mentorship model introduces students to primary care earlier than most medical schools. Students are mentored by these faculty physicians, learn how to interact with patients, and obtain a first-hand experience in primary care, said Amy Kuhlik, MD, dean of students at TUSM.

In addition to the hands-on training in local communities, the curriculum changes also include a six-week rotation in family medicine for all students. Students train in doctors offices, community health centers, and academic teaching practices throughout New England. Students return to the classroom one day a week for innovative exercises such as interviewing patients with physical disabilities and patients on the autism spectrum and receiving direct feedback from those patients.

Students in the third year participate in workshops on health-care systems and reform; information mastery, or the art and science of efficiently accessing state-of-the-art and evidence-based information while caring for patients; treatment of underserved patients; physician wellness; and motivational interviewing, which involves coaching patients to discover their own motivations to make better decisions about their health, said Wayne Altman, MD, director of medical student education in the TUSM department of family medicine

Tufts students who choose family medicine are interested in making a difference in the communities that they serve and improving health-care outcomes in populations. Graduates from Tufts will attend some of the top programs in the country including our own Tufts Family Medicine program at Cambridge Health Alliance, which will help to address the physician shortage in Massachusetts, as well as at programs from Maine to California, said Randy Wertheimer, MD, Jaharis Chair of Family Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Chief, Department of Family Medicine, at Cambridge Health Alliance.

The Tufts University Family Medicine Residency program at Cambridge Health Alliance, widely regarded as one of the best in the country, has pioneered a model program that relies less on training residents in hospitals and instead emphasizes outpatient training where family physicians are most apt to work.

The match, conducted annually by the National Resident Matching Program, matches medical school students with residency programs at US teaching hospitals.

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Tufts Medical Students Match in Record-High Numbers in Family Medicine

In the annual ritual known as Match Day, when medical-school seniors find out where they will go for postgraduate training and, perhaps, the rest of their lives, 41 percent of the graduates of New Orleans' medical schools learned Friday that they will stay in Louisiana. At LSU School of Medicine, which accepts only Louisiana residents, 108 of the 171 seniors in the match -- 63 percent -- will go to residencies in New Orleans, LSU Health Sciences Center spokeswoman Leslie Capo said.

At Tulane University School of Medicine, which has no such entry requirement, 35 of the 177 students in the match -- about 20 percent -- learned that their residencies will be in Louisiana, Tulane spokesman Keith Brannon said.

At Louisiana's other medical, LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport, 49 of the 108 seniors in the match -- 45 percent -- will have Louisiana residencies, spokeswoman Meg Willett said.

In New Orleans, two hospitals offer residencies, even though they do not have medical school. Ochsner Medical Center filled all 55 of its slots, and East Jefferson General Hospital filled its seven positions, representatives of those institutions said.

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41 percent of local medical graduates to stay in Louisiana