Congratulations to the Class of 2026 on their success in the match. It was another excellent result with all class members matching. About a third will be staying in Nebraska for residency, most at UNMC. Those that are leaving us in May demonstrated the impact of their UNMC education as they matched throughout the country, including some of the most competitive residency training positions nationally. Once again, more than half will be pursuing initial residency training in a primary care specialty.
As always it was a thrill to see each of the students open the envelopes to find out their residency destination in the presence of friends and family. The smiles said it all.
The ceremony was slightly bittersweet, as it marked the last one at which Senior Associate Dean Wendy Grant, MD, will serve as master of ceremonies. Dr. Grant announced that she will be stepping down from that role July 1 to return fulltime to her passion – transplant surgery. We will miss her next year. As always, Dr. Grant and her staff did a great job in putting on a momentous event.
Speaking of nice events, I had the pleasure of attending a reception for our alumni from Lincoln and surrounding areas last week, sponsored by the Alumni Association and the NU Foundation. The turnout was the largest we have had in Lincoln. The theme was “Notable Teachers from Throughout the Last 75 Years of the College.” It began with a photo montage of notable faculty members thanks to the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Collection.
Four faculty members were highlighted as toughest, most entertaining, best teacher, or most supportive – respectively, Robert Binhammer, PhD, Ed Holyoke, MD, PhD, Leroy Meyer, MD, and Mary Jo Henn, MD. Groups of alumni from similar years then had the opportunity to reminisce about faculty from their years at UNMC. The program ended with two current students, Kira Bravo and Haylee Moree, sharing some of their experiences as current students.
There were several things reinforced by the event, including:
- How impactful individual teachers can be on students.
- How much the students’ experience at UNMC shaped their careers, and how they approached the practice of medicine.
- How, had it not been for UNMC and the encouragement of key faculty, they might never have pursued medicine or been able to graduate from medical school.
Sometimes the smallest comments or simplest gestures by faculty have lifelong impact.