The Unmatched Excitement and Anxiety of Match Day

On the day where she was to find out if she matched with a residency, Kiera Jeschke ‘21OD, admitted she was a nervous wreck.

She was hoping to be placed at The Eye Institute (TEI) of Salus University because her first rotation through the Neuro-ophthalmic Disease Department there had impressed her. “I fell in love with the patients we were seeing and the information I was learning,” said Jeschke. “I felt like I was growing clinically so when I applied for residencies, TEI was my first choice.”

Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, she earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Messiah University in Mechanicsburg. She’s currently completely her final rotation at a practice in Florida and had arrived at work. She knew the Resident Match Day announcements through ORMatch for all ACOE accredited residency programs were coming that day, but she didn’t expect to hear anything until around noon.

She made one last check of her emails before running in for her shift, which revealed a correspondence she opened immediately.

But the email wasn’t fully loading on her phone. All she could see was the word “Congratulations!” 

“I was like, well at least I know I got a residency,” said Jeschke, who will graduate from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus next month. “I scrolled down and saw it was the Neuro one at PCO/Salus and I was jumping for joy. I called my mom and my fiancée and texted all my friends.” 

Residency Match Day is when all residency programs and applicants receive their results on where they ultimately are matched after a season of residency interviews which begins in October and closes at the end of February every year. Optometry residents go through a selection process that includes applying to programs, interviewing, and submitting ranks into a computer algorithm that formulates results which are released on Match Day. 

Liana Ferreira ‘21OD wasn’t initially sure she wanted to do a residency after graduation next month. But completing her fourth-year externships made her realize how much more there was for her to learn. She, too, was eating breakfast the morning Match Day results were being released and was getting ready to go to her final rotation.

Originally from Easton, Connecticut, Ferreira looked for a residency closer to home. But with a little more experience and research, PCO/Salus eventually became her first choice for a residency in Primary Care/Ocular Disease. 

“When you look at what PCO/Salus has to offer and what its patient population is like — really diverse with the opportunity to see a lot of disease — I knew it would be a great opportunity for me,” she said. “Whichever residency program you decided on, you’re going to see 10 times more things with patients here than you would just going right out and working at a practice. It would take me a lot longer to see what I’m about to see in the next year. That really excites me.” 

She, indeed, received her first match as well. Ecstatic, she spent the rest of the drive to work crying before eventually calling her mom and sharing the news. 

The anticipation leading up to Residency Match Day is most palpable amongst the residency candidates, residency program supervisors, faculty, and the residency directors, soon after the final ranking lists are submitted, according to Shital Mani, OD ‘03, Resident ‘04, FAAO, the director of Affiliate Residency Programs at PCO/Salus. Bhawan Minhas, OD ‘13, Resident ‘14, FAAO, is the director of the On-Campus Residency Programs. 

“This year, COVID-19 and travel restrictions added an extra layer of anxiety amongst the applicants and program supervisors, who had to resort to Zoom interviews and virtual tours of the facilities before making their final ranking decisions,” said Dr. Mani. “It was a challenging process for all, but we are happy to report that our in-house and affiliated residency programs have been filled with top-notch candidates for the Class of 2021-22 and Dr. Minhas and I are very much looking forward to welcoming a fine group of residents.” 

Residencies will begin July 1, 2021.

The incoming on-campus TEI residents include:

Primary Care/Ocular Disease

Liana Ferreira ‘21OD - PCO/Salus                                                                           

Rochelle Fleischer – SUNY College of Optometry                                                                         

Bailey Ford – Western University College of Optometry

Crystal Liu ‘21OD – PCO/Salus                                                                                 

Chandni Patel ‘21 OD – PCO/Salus                                                                           

Wayne Tan ‘21OD – PCO/Salus                                                                   

Pediatric/Vision Therapy

Anthony Boyd – SUNY College of Optometry                                                                                  

Beth Katz ‘21OD – PCO/Salus                                                                     

Low Vision Rehabilitation

Natalee Rackus ‘21OD – PCO/Salus                                                                          

Cornea/Contact Lens

Kevin Feng ‘21OD – PCO/Salus                                                                               

First-Year Resident, Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease

Kiera Jeschke ‘21OD – PCO/Salus                                                                            

Continuing Second-Year Resident, Neuro-Ophthalmic Disease

Elizabeth Marunde – University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry