So you made it through med school. Between the endless studying, countless tests, and sleepless nights, your stress levels have been through the roof. No doubt you wore out multiple headphones over the past three years, since listening to your favorite jams definitely raised your spirits on more than one occasion. But nothing compares to that fourth year of med school, when the pressure of getting into a residency program overshadows everything else. And then there’s that one day when you and all your friends find out if you made it into one, aptly named Match Day.
Cute name, right? Match Day. Sounds like one of those fun holidays we’re always hearing about, i.e. National Hamburger Day, National Waffle Day. You get the gist. But it’s not cute. Or fun. There are no hamburgers or waffles of any kind involved. Your entire medical career rests on this day.
We’re kidding, well mostly. While this is an extremely important date on every med students’ calendar, it is by no means the make or break of a future career. But it can certainly feel like it. It’s this one day, this singular moment in time, that has the potential to define the course of a student’s medical future. All of that hard work has led up to this moment…are you ready for it?
Since we know how powerful music can be, especially for a med student, we hunted the web to see if we could find some Match Day songs to set the mood for the big day. Whether you are looking for songs to just celebrate the occasion, or your med school allows you to choose “walk up” music for your Match Day ceremony, let’s just say we came across some interesting choices.
Match Day Songs for Celebrating
“Friday” – Rebecca Black
- Since Match Day typically falls on a Friday, of course, this song came to mind.
“Started from the Bottom” – Drake
- You’ve worked your way up to your last year of med school and reached your goal of matching into a residency program.
- A Reddit user had a different take on the lyrics: “Started from the bottom, and now I’m…. at a new bottom”
“In the End” – Linkin Park
- Whatever the day brings, life goes on (and so will your career)!
- RIP Chester Bennington
“Baba O’Riley” – The Who
- Currently petitioning to change “Teenage wasteland” to “Med School wasteland” – Stay tuned
“Dreams and Nightmares” – Meek Mill
- Because let’s face it, this day can go either way for some students.
“Congratulations” – Post Malone
- To celebrate your success and hard work.
“I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor
- You’ve made it this far. Nothing can stop you now!
For Matching into a Specific Specialty
“Like A Surgeon” – “Weird Al” Yankovic
- This is a very fitting Match Day song for anyone matching into Surgery as suggested by a user on the Student Doctor Network (SDN).
“I finally made it through med school,
Somehow I made it through,
I’m just an intern,
I still make a mistake or two”
“Anaesthetists” – Amateur Transplants
- The same user from SDN also made this suggestion for those matching into Anesthesia
- It’s a hilarious parody of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”
“Cause we sometimes check the screen,
and every now and then we write stuff,
and if we have to intervene,
we inject a bit of white stuff”
Match Day Walk Up Songs
- “Hail to the Chief”
- “The Imperial March” – Star Wars
- “The Price is Right Theme Song”
- “Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor
- “All I Do Is Win” – DJ Khaled
- “Lose Yourself” – Eminem
Personally, we think “I Will Survive” best sums up the residency matching experience. In what other profession is there anything as stressful as Match Day?
But in all seriousness, there are many studies that suggest listening to music is one of the best ways to reduce anxiety and increase happiness. Regardless of whether you want to try out any of these Match Day songs for this year’s Match Day, we encourage all med students to pick up their headphones, crank up Spotify, and let the music do the rest.
You can listen to all of these songs with the Spotify playlist below.