Finding her vision: Phan’s early match in ophthalmology keeps her home
On the morning of March 20, the graduating members of the McGovern Medical School Class of 2026 will all gather in Webber Plaza. Surrounded by their classmates, families, friends, mentors, and everyone who played a part in their medical school journey, they will nervously watch the clock, counting the seconds until 11 a.m., when they can open their envelopes and officially discover where they will match for residencies.
Match Day is one of the most important days of medical school. The culmination of four years of hard work and dedication comes down to a single moment where graduating medical students across the country learn their future.
However, for students matching to ophthalmology and urology, as well as those entering military programs, Match Days look a little different. Each of these specialties employ different processes for matching students, leading to early matches before the March 20 date.
Although Viana Phan grew up in a family surrounded by medicine, medical school was not always something she wanted to do. Two of her siblings are currently completing residencies, with her oldest sister entering general surgery and her brother training in internal medicine, but she did not initially want to follow in her siblings’ footsteps.
“I initially wanted to go to optometry school,” said Phan, the president of the UTHealth Houston Student InterCouncil. “Once I figured out they cost the same and take the same amount of time, I thought I would regret not going into medicine and learning the whole breadth of that scope before doubling down on ophthalmology.”
So, after a gap year of working as a vision therapist and a medical writer for a global health nonprofit, called One Good Turn, she was accepted at McGovern Medical School.
“I knew people that were at a lot of the different schools, and I felt like McGovern Medical School was my number one go-to. It was definitely the people. I didn’t really know what I was looking for more than choice of city and culture of the school, and I think what I sensed about the people I talked to on my interview day drew me to McGovern Medical School.”
Her time at McGovern Medical School only helped to solidify her love for ophthalmology. Phan enjoyed the hands-on, detail-oriented approach she had with patients and the rewarding feeling of restoring and preserving people’s vision.
“As a medical student, I’ve realized how special it is that we get to see a living organ in the back of someone’s eye and be able to see the thing that correlates to what is going on with their symptoms,” she said. “I was ready for one of the other specialties to pique my interest more, but they never quite did. They were a fun time while they lasted for one to two months at a time, but I think the more I learned about ophthalmology, the more excited I was to do it.”
Although she was set on being an ophthalmologist, Phan said she didn’t have any expectations for where she wanted to go. No matter what her envelope said, she was mentally prepared for any of the great options she had on her match list.
“I had no idea what my life after graduation was going to be for the next four years,” Phan said. “But I feel like it was such a sense of relief when I found out. It really didn’t matter where I was going, so long that I had a job, and that the whole process was finally done.”
However, when she opened her envelope in February, she was thrilled to see she would be staying home at UTHealth Houston.
“I think it was extra special, because I’m staying home at our program,” Phan said. “I started getting calls and texts from my mentors and all of the residents in the ophthalmology program that found out through our admin. It was a big sense of relief. The whole day was so overwhelming, but overwhelming with joy and gratitude and just a lot of people being proud of me.”
Now Phan will get to complete her residency training where she’s familiar. She won’t need to move to a new city or learn a new hospital system. She can stay home and continue learning at a place where she grew as a medical student.
“As a medical student, this is like our playground. We just run around, and learn, and have fun. It felt comforting to know that I was where I belong, that it was the right match.”
Though her Match Day didn’t come with the fanfare of a traditional one, Phan said that she enjoyed the process. Her Match Day was a random Thursday, her family and friends were all working, and she consciously chose to open her envelope by herself to process everything on her own time.
“I had maybe five minutes to myself before I started getting phone calls and such, but I think it was really nice,” she said.
To tell her family and friends, Phan rigged a game of “mafia” where each person in the game represented a different school that she interviewed at, eliminating them one-by-one before revealing she was staying home at UTHealth Houston.
“I definitely think Match Day is way bigger than honestly my birthday this year, maybe even graduation,” Phan said. “But I’m very grateful that I got to have it on my own day. Personally, I think for all of us that are matching early, it is fantastic that we find out sooner so we can start planning our lives and our futures.”
On the morning of March 20, as the graduating members of the McGovern Medical School Class of 2026 gather in Webber Plaza, Phan will be there to support her friends and classmates meeting their match, learning where their hard work has led them.
“Fourth year was the best year of medical school, and now there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s such a relief to be done with the process and take a break from everything. I know residency will be challenging, but it is not anything that we haven’t been prepared for.”