UT Houston Seniors Meet Their Match
Almost 60 Percent of the Class
Will Stay in Texas
For Residency Training
HOUSTON—(March 20, 2008)—Whether they want to be anesthesiologists, internists or surgeons, nearly 200 seniors at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston simultaneously discovered today where they’ll take the next crucial step in their medical careers.
In the anticipation-filled annual event called Match Day, coordinated by the National Resident Matching Program, students from across the country opened envelopes at the exact same time to find out where they will do their residencies.
Manuel Dominguez will be doing his residency in internal medicine and he hopes to specialize in nephrology. His family joined him on Match Day.
“I am confident the training and values they received at the Medical School have laid a strong foundation and will serve them in the next step of their chosen profession,” said Giuseppe Colasurdo, M.D., dean of the UT Medical School at Houston.
Approximately 16,000 U.S. medical school seniors competed with 15,000 independent applicants for approximately 24,000 residency positions.
Of the 192 in the graduating class at the UT Medical School at Houston, 115 will stay in Texas for their first year of post-graduate training. Twenty-five percent matched to residency programs at the UT Medical School at Houston. The class’ top choices for residencies were internal medicine, anesthesiology and obstetrics and gynecology.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the class members of 2008:
Lindsey Keys, 25, of San Antonio, will go to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School for her residency in anesthesiology, a popular choice for this year’s seniors. She said anesthesiology combines her love of physiology with her desire to be in the operating room. A graduate of Incarnate Word High School in San Antonio, Keys graduated with honors from Prairie View A&M University. The daughter of a registered nurse, she remembers doing homework in her mother’s office while the emergency room medical team was saving lives. She wants to follow her residency with a fellowship in critical care, giving her a bridge between the operating room and the intensive care unit. “I like being in the operating room. It fits my personality,” Keys said. “You have to be organized and efficient and aware of everything.”
Lindsey Keys matched to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School for her residency in anesthesiology.
Rhet Langley, 25, of DeRidder, La., also chose to specialize in anesthesiology, and will do his residency at the UT Medical School at Houston. The son of U.S. Army Col. Robert Benson and Jan Benson, he graduated from Moline Senior High School in Moline, Ill., in 2000 and from Baylor University in Waco in 2004, where he majored in neuroscience. Langley is a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and plans to go into the service for four years after he completes his residency. Langley had pneumonia as a youth and was impressed with the treatment he received from his caregivers. Now he is pursuing an anesthesiology residency so he can assist people during “life altering situations.”
David Nolen, 28, a Houston native who grew up in the Memorial area, opened his envelope today to reveal that he will do his residency training as an ear, nose and throat specialist at Duke University Medical Center. But first, to fulfill one of his final obligations as the class president, he helped distribute Match Day envelopes to his classmates. “This is a cohesive class, and we’ve been through a lot together in the last four years,” Nolen said. “We’ve all been anxious to see what happens next.” Nolen, who graduated from St. John’s School before heading to Texas A&M University for his undergraduate degree, said a career in otolaryngology marries his passion for medicine with his love for music. Being an ear, nose and throat specialist will allow him to help singers with vocal problems and patients who can’t hear. It also will provide him training to repair facial trauma and deformities, which are his main areas of interest. “I’m open to anything at this point,” said Nolen, a musician who plays the guitar. “I just want to help my patients, and one day I’d like to do some international work.”
Jay Ornelas will do his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
Jay Ornelas, 26, will do his residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. “I grew up in a neighborhood where most people don’t graduate from high school,” said Ornelas, who is from the south side of San Antonio. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do more, so going to medical school was a mission for personal achievement. Now it’s about being the best in terms of serving my patients. To help and protect your patients takes great diligence, and that’s the challenge I want to meet now.” Ornelas, whose medical education has been supported in part by PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), said he would ultimately like to practice medicine in a diverse, underserved community. “I love the continuity of care and all the happy moments,” said Ornelas, whose partner, Quang Le, was with him on Match Day to celebrate where his medical training will take him next.
Originally from Mexico City, 40 year-old Manuel Dominguez came to the United States as a college student at The University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, where he majored in psychology. He received his master’s degree in clinical psychology at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, after which he worked for more than a decade in the field, all the while preparing for medical school part-time. Dominguez will be doing his residency in internal medicine at UT Southwestern and hopes to specialize in nephrology. In addition to being a medical student, husband and father of four, Dominguez continues to work part-time as a psychologist. “I just want to remind people to follow their dreams. Sure it takes sacrifice, but it’s worth it,” Dominguez said. Dominguez is the oldest student in the class of 2008.
R. Matthew Camarillo, student regent on The University of Texas System Board of Regents, receives his match.
Abby Ornelas, 25, (no relation to Jay Ornelas) is one of nine students who chose to specialize in psychiatry. She will do her training at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Born and raised in Laredo, she graduated from John B. Alexander Magnet for Health and Sciences and The University of Texas Pan-American in Edinburg. "It wasn't until my third year of clinic rotations that I knew I loved psychiatry," Ornelas said. "I saw a patient with pseudocyesis, a condition where the person had the physical manifestations of pregnancy and the delusion of being pregnant even through she was not. This was something I had only read about in books; I was fascinated." Ornelas plans to return to Laredo to practice after her residency and open a clinic geared primarily toward the bilingual Hispanic population. She is currently the southwest regional treasurer of the National Network of Latin American Students (NNLAMS).
R. Matthew Camarillo, student regent on The University of Texas System Board of Regents, has wanted to be a doctor since kindergarten. “I never wavered. Every time I went to the doctor, I was fascinated,” he said. Playing high school sports at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth led to an interest in orthopedics, which was further piqued when he was able to see a friend’s father, an orthopedic surgeon, perform surgery. Camarillo, 27, worked as an athletic trainer for The University of Texas football, basketball and softball teams while he earned bachelor degrees in chemistry and kinesiology at The University of Texas at Austin. “I love surgery,” said Camarillo, who will stay at the UT Medical School at Houston for his residency in orthopedic surgery. “As long as it’s not my own blood, it’s all right. I love taking call and I don’t mind the long hours.”