Approximately 160 fourth-year students in the University of Louisville School of Medicine will take part in Match Day, the nationally observed event that matches graduating medical students to the residency programs they will complete after graduation.

Match Day in Louisville will be held Friday, March 20, at the Greater Louisville Medical Society, 101 W. Chestnut St. Doors open at 10 a.m.

Match Day is a joyous, exciting event for medical students and their families, as all students receive an envelope at noon Eastern Standard Time, open it and find out where their professional journey as a medical doctor will take them.

The process begins months before. The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) provides a uniform process for matching medical school applicants’ preferences for residency positions with residency programs’ preferences for applicants.

Following interviews with their choices of residency programs, fourth-year medical students submit those preferences to the NRMP. The residency programs do likewise, submitting their preferences for applicants to the NRMP. A matching algorithm then uses those preferences to place individuals into positions, and all matches throughout the United States are announced at the same time on Match Day.