A Valentine's Day Match
“Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you." – Walter Winchell
An Organic Match.
We, at MedSmarter, are passionate about matching students to high USMLE exam scores and opportunities that enhance their education. Our hearts fill (we don't mean Cardiac Tamponade) with joy to see our students succeed.
Match-day is one of the most critical and stressful days in the career of a medical student, but some types of "matches" happen organically and outside the spectrum of medical school. In this blog post, we spotlight matching of the hearts with student doctors Gina Grewal and Amar Deol - Couples Who Study Together, Succeed Together!
Having someone you trust.
Matching into a residency, like matching up with a partner is a culmination of timing, a lot of hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck. Gina points this out in an interview, " When we first embarked on our medical journey, there was great difficulty in successfully maneuvering through the vast information in a time-restricted program." She mentioned that they met early on while pre-medical students.
Having someone you trust (whether they are a partner or even a friend) early on can help you develop the skills necessary to be successful. "…As we moved forward, we found that we worked well together and began to create a joint study plan...Working together resulted in greater understating and introduced a new method of studying...We would take turns explaining and discussing many topics," says Gina.
She continues, "This created an atmosphere that was fun and conducive to our improvement," to express the benefits of actively engaging relationships to be mutually beneficial. Medical school is a grueling time and requires you to keep healthy habits alive and develop new ones. "It is always helpful to have a constant support system and someone who is experiencing the same struggles and triumphs as you," stated Gina.
Working towards success...
On Valentine’s Day, we wanted to share the example of how a couple (like Amar and Gina) who study together, succeed together, and hopefully, go on to match together. Having cleared his USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CS with us successfully; Gina has cleared Step 1 and is awaiting CS results.
Although, they may not be applying to the match at the same time, having this foundation paves the way for them to adapt to whatever hurdles the application and interview processes, or life throws at them. We are confident they will continue to rise above and "Define their path to a Successful Career in Medicine." Couples who study together, succeed together.
Article by Maher Ahmed.
The team at MedSmarter is devoted to assisting medical students, IMGs and physicians succeed in their journey toward becoming practicing physicians in the United States. Your feedback and input are critical to us as we continue to grow and add more features and content that are valuable to you.
