Medical student succeeds in military match

Graduation is just the first step on the path to becoming a physician. After medical school, new doctors must spend anywhere from three to seven years training under the supervision of experienced clinicians before they can be licensed to practice medicine on their own. And getting into a good residency program is just as competitive and nerve-wracking as getting into medical school in the first place. Only this time, graduates are subject to the discretion of an algorithm devised by the National Resident Matching Program that weighs applicants’ preferences against the needs of various residencies to determine the best matches for both.

For students like Jameaka Hamilton, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, the process can be even more complicated. “Military match starts earlier,” she said. “Our season starts in July and our Match Day is in December. So, we do our away rotations earlier than other students.”

That means balancing studying for board exams, which usually take place around the same time, with applications and interviews for residency programs. “I also had to apply to the civilian match, just in case I got a deferment,” Hamilton said. “As soon as I completed my military applications, I started going on civilian interviews. There was a lot going on.”

The process was nerve-wracking at times, she said. “I was encouraged to have a plan A, B, C and D — you never know what’s going to happen. There were definitely some frantic calls with my parents, but luckily it worked out.”

She matched with her first choice, Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. “I’m super excited to be going there,” she said. “Their program reminds me a lot of MUSC. I really felt comfortable there.”

Hamilton’s specialty will be obstetrics and gynecology. “OB-GYN has the balance I was looking for between clinic-based primary care and also being a surgeon and developing my surgical skill,” she explained.

She knew she wanted to be a doctor at the age of 14 when a medical scare sent her into the hospital, and she saw the work doctors do firsthand. “I got better, and it made me want to do that for someone else,” she said. “I was really inspired by the grace with which my doctor led her team and how much time and energy she invested in my treatment.”

Her parents, both in the military themselves, encouraged her to pursue her dreams. “I told my parents I wanted to be a doctor, and they rolled with it. There was no looking back after that.”

To get exposure to medicine, Hamilton volunteered at a Red Cross clinic at the Fort Jackson Army Base, near where she grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. She was also accepted to a magnet high school program at Spring Valley High School that emphasized science and technology.

After high school, Hamilton majored in biology at Wofford College in the upstate, where she was a member of the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students, a pipeline program for the Student National Medical Association.

Though being in the military has added to the already hectic pace of medical school, Hamilton believes the leadership skills she developed in the military have made her a better doctor. She also appreciates the way the military encourages interprofessionalism.  “Being in the military has been a great benefit to me,” she said. “They paid for the cost of my education and gave me a stipend. So the financial stress of how I was going to pay back my loans wasn’t on my mind at all. I really could just focus on my studies.”

Angela Choi, M.D., one of Hamilton’s mentors at MUSC, praised Hamilton’s commitment to medicine as well as serving her country, and said she expects to see big things from her in the future. “I can’t say enough about her dedication, passion and perseverance,” Choi said. “She is one of the few medical students I can think of who asked to come to work with me during her vacation and time off. She is organized and prepared, and she is not afraid to accept a challenge. She touches all those she meets. The women under her care will be lucky to have her as their physician.”

Hamilton is looking forward to celebrating Match Day with her fellow students March 17. She’s glad the anxiety of actually matching is behind her.

“I still get the envelope,” she said, “I just already know what it says.”