PNWU’s Military Medical Students have once again achieved a perfect Military Match, with all six of our Class of 2023’s Military Student Doctors accepted into their first-choice residency programs.
Those results – which were announced earlier this month by the Joint Service GME Selection Board – represent a variety of specialties and U.S. Armed Forces service branches and align our graduates with their greatest healthcare aspirations and passions.
- Air Force
- Victoria Sefcsik, 2D LT, OMS IV
- MATCHED: Family Medicine, Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, NV
- Cameron Law, 2D LT, OMS IV
- MATCHED: Pediatrics, San Antonio Military Medical Center
- Elizabeth Kosanke, 2D LT, OMS IV
- MATCHED: Ophthalmology at San Antonio Military Medical Center
- Sahej Walia, OMS IV
- MATCHED: Transitional year spot, San Antonio Military Medical Center
- Navy
- Austin Baumeister, ENS, OMS IV
- Pediatrics, Naval Medical Center San Diego
- Army
- Kim Nguyen, 2D LT, OMS IV
- Orthopedic Surgery, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC
Student Doctor Victoria Sefcsik, 2D LT, OMS IV
Excitement, Relief & Disbelief
Throughout the morning of Military Match Day, PNWU Student Doctor Victoria Sefcsik, 2D LT, OMS IV, eagerly awaited one of two sounds: her ringing phone, or an email ping. Set to arrive at noon, either would reveal the next chapter in her pursuit of her medical aspirations.
Following virtual interviews with Las Vegas’ Nellis Air Force Base Family Medicine Residency, Student Doctor Sefcsik had a strong feeling she’d found her fit. After taking a two-day trip to visit the program, she fell deeper in love with it. It was far and away her top choice, and as she awaited the results, she was admittedly nervous.
“The military often disperses applicants,” she thought, staring at her phone. When it rang, from an unknown WhatsApp number, she had a good feeling. “I knew they were deployed,” explained Sefcsik, referencing the location of her top-choice residency’s Program Director. Her mom watched her intently as she answered, and as a smile filled her daughter’s face, she began jumping up and down in their living room.
“PNWU truly prepared me for my audition rotations, and I think that’s a huge part of why I ended up where I did for residency,” explained Sefcsik. “I’m so incredibly honored to know all my military medicine classmates. They are truly an asset to the military, and their future patients are so incredibly lucky to have them. Their determination and compassion for medicine is apparent as they all matched into competitive specialties. I cannot wait for what’s in store for them.”
“I’m so incredibly honored to know all my military medicine classmates. They are truly an asset to the military, and their future patients are so incredibly lucky to have them.”
Student Doctor Kim Nguyen, 2D LT, OMS IV
Fight For Your Future. Be Loud.
PNWU Student Doctor Kim Nguyen, 2D LT, OMS IV, was surrounded by family in Portland, OR, when her phone rang with her big news – which included a heart-pounding twist.
“I got the call from an 808-area code,” said Nguyen, which reflected tropical Honolulu, HI. For Nguyen, the news wasn’t sunny. Honolulu was her second choice. When the voice on the other end of the phone warmly introduced himself as the Program Director of Womack Army Medical Center– her first choice, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina – Nguyen’s compassionate aspirations were fueled.
Following the Orthopedic Surgery residency, Student Doctor Nguyen hopes to one day start her own non-profit organization which performs orthopedic surgeries for the underserved at no cost to the patient.
“Congratulations to my military peers on matching!” added Nguyen. “What an honor it is to be your classmates for the last four years. And to future fourth-year students: Always advocate for yourself, even if you may get push back. Fight for your future. Be loud.”
“These have been some of our best students,” explained PNWU’s Dean of Student Affairs Stephen Laird, DO. “They all demonstrate strong academic skills, professionalism, leadership, and maturity. They all have bright futures ahead of them.”
“Fight for your future. Be loud.”
Student Doctor Austin Baumeister, ENS, OMS IV
Talent, Hard Work & Excellence
Student Doctor Austin Baumeister, ENS, OMS IV, read his match results “about 10 times” before accepting they were real.
His specialty of choice, pediatrics, was especially competitive in the Navy this year, with many high-quality applicants competing for only a dozen spots nationwide. Going in, Baumeister was somewhat sure he wouldn’t match. Still, he knew he had to apply.
“Being a pediatrician is my dream,” said Student Doctor Baumeister. “In my opinion, nothing compares.”
Fittingly enough, Baumeister found himself working in a pediatrics clinic on Military Match Day, and beside his longtime mentor: a pediatrician and fellow-Navy Health Professionals Scholarship Program (HPSP) alumnus. Together, they read the results of his match, and celebrated by doing what they each loved most: caring for children.
“I could not have dreamed a better way to spend the day,” Baumeister exclaimed, “and I could not be happier with the chance to live out my dream in a few months!”
Following his intern year in the Naval Medical Center San Diego’s Pediatrics Residency Program,
Baumeister plans to apply to both pediatrics and a dive medicine General Medical Officer (GMO) tour. “I would be excited by either option,” he explained. “If I am selected to do a GMO, I’ll come back to finish pediatric residency after spending a few years in the fleet. All fun and exciting options, so it’s all smiles on my end!”
He expressed similar joy for the matching results of his fellow PNWU HPSP Student Doctors. “It speaks to the talent, hard-work, and excellence that they exemplify,” he said.
“I received an overwhelming amount of encouragement and support from all levels of the PNWU community,” added Baumeister, expressing his appreciation for the PNWU students, alumni, staff, and faculty who reached out to him. “I never take it lightly that I am a part of a community at PNWU.”
“It’s gratifying to know that our military medical students have distinguished themselves as scholars and service members, and that residency programs are eager to match them,” said Thomas Scandalis, DO, Dean of PNWU-COM. “They are wonderful ambassadors for PNWU and the College of Osteopathic Medicine.”
“I never take it lightly that I am a part of a community at PNWU.”
Student Doctor Elizabeth Kosanke, 2D LT, OMS IV
A Small but Mighty Group
Seeking an opportunity to get outside and reflect on her journey and future before her military match results arrived, PNWU Student Doctor Elizabeth Kosanke, 2D LT, OMS IV, paired up with fellow Student Doctor Emily Bolton for a trip to Sedona, AZ.
The serenity of the Coconino National Forest, and the intense challenge of reaching Keyhole Cave – which is not featured on any map, has no trail markings, and can only be accessed via off-trail land, which means forging a path through wilderness – offered a much-needed distraction from her admittedly-unlikely chances of matching to her first-choice residency.
Kosanke first fell in love with Ophthalmology as a Junior at Creighton University. Studying abroad in the Dominican Republic at the Institute for Latin American Concern, she was given the opportunity to observe a cataract surgery with Ophthalmologists from Mount Sinai. Immediately, she was hooked. “Ophthalmic surgeries almost felt like magic and completely captivated my curiosity,” Kosanke explained.
Prior to enrolling in PNWU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kosanke cared for an elderly gentleman whose sight was being stolen from end-stage glaucoma and wet macular degeneration. Guiding him through the grocery store, assisting him at the bank, and listening to repeated stories of times past offered her the reward of knowing she could make him feel more seen in his ever-darkening world.
With that intricate connection between pathology and the effect on a patient’s quality of life and independence constantly on her mind, Kosanke joined PNWU-COM’s Class of 2023, longing to use her medical education to provide direct patient care to those living with visual impairment. Ultimately, the passion carried her through medical school, and led her to apply for one of just two available first-year spots with the Air Force’s only Ophthalmology residency at San Antonio Military Medical Center.
Having just returned from a trail-defying hidden cave hike, Kosanke found herself “in absolute shock” as she read the results of her Military Match: She had been accepted into the hyper-competitive ophthalmology program of her dreams.
“It still feels surreal,” said Kosanke. “The people in San Antonio felt like family, and I am absolutely elated to be selected for this program.”
“As a first-generation Physician and Airman, I consider it the greatest honor to have matched into Ophthalmology and spend my career working to maintain and restore the vision and ocular health of patients who have sacrificed so much as part of our military family,” Kosanke added.
Upon retirement from the Air Force, Kosanke plans to use her education and experience to reverse and treat preventable causes of blindness in developing countries.
“We are a small but mighty group,” said Kosanke of her Class of ’23 military medicine peers. “They have been some of my biggest supporters throughout medical school, always encouraging and eager to lend a helping hand. Despite being spread across different branches of service, we share a common bond and mission. I know all of them are going to make a very positive impact in the Army, Air Force, and Navy Medical Corps, and I am proud to have them as fellow officers and dear friends.”