Match Day 2026: How Harvard Medical School Students Chose Their Specialty

Awaiting residency placements, graduates share excitement about chosen fields.

Bobbie Collins | Harvard Medical School

Next week, graduating Harvard Medical School MD and MD-PhD students will find out their residency placements and launch their careers practicing medicine.

Sealed letters, handed to them on Match Day, March 20, will let them know which hospitals and clinics they are assigned to for postgraduate training.

The new physicians and physician-scientists will join the HMS alumni community in advancing medical science and striving to achieve better health for all by equitably delivering the best possible care.

With more than 200 specialties and subspecialties to choose from in the United States — including internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, radiology, and many others — how does a medical student decide what type of doctor to become?

One way HMS helps MD students determine their lifework is by offering opportunities to discover and explore a myriad of specializations throughout their four years via connections with physician mentors and individualized career advising. Students also see patients in a variety of specialty settings during their clinical experiences and rotations at the School’s 15 affiliated hospitals. And of course, personal experience also factors in.

Three soon-to-be resident physicians shared with Harvard Medicine News their chosen specialties, enthusiasm, and influences.

Besmira Alija, MD program

Specialty: Surgery

HMNews: Why are you passionate about going into surgery?

Besmira Alija: Pursuing a career in general surgery is an honor. There are many aspects of this field that inspire me, but at its core, what excites me most is the privilege of caring for patients at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. To me, surgery represents love and lifelong dedication to mastering your craft for the sole purpose of offering a patient their best chance at life. This is a responsibility I do not take lightly, and I look forward to it as I begin residency!

HMNews: Who mentored you and how did they play a role in helping you find your calling?

Alija: Becoming a physician is impossible to do alone; it takes a village, and I truly believe I have the very best one. My journey has been shaped by the generosity of so many phenomenal people. Drs. Keith Lillemoe, Motaz Qadan, and Siva Vithiananthan have been some of my fiercest advocates, teachers, and role models. They have consistently believed in me, challenged me to grow, and modeled what it means to be a surgeon who leads with their heart. They showed me that being a good surgeon is not defined solely by technical mastery but also by compassion, teamwork, and a deep commitment to the people around them.

Adam Berger, HST MD-PhD program

Specialty: Pediatrics

HMNews: Why are you passionate about going into pediatrics?

Adam Berger: I am so excited to be privy to the stories of my patients (and their families) whose lives are just getting started and rapidly evolving. As a pediatrician, the clinical decisions and guidance that I provide could have impact beyond just treating illnesses but also in encouraging healthy habits that will carry throughout my patients’ lives. Through longitudinal relationships, I will get to be their support system. Finally, as a physician-scientist interested in genetically defined therapies, I believe the future is with children, whose entire disease courses may one day be reversed by our treatments.

HMNews: Who mentored you and how did they play a role in helping you find your calling?

Berger: So many mentors encouraged me toward pediatrics, but Dr. Mary Mullen at Boston Children’s Hospital was particularly influential. Watching her interact with children and their families, showing as much interest in their dance recitals and reading lists as she did in their heart disease, I saw the joy in longitudinally caring for developing children. She showed me how to maintain curiosity in the din of clinical tasks, always asking questions to better understand the frontiers of our biomedical knowledge and always pushing toward providing better clinical care for those who have a whole life ahead of them.

Sarah Lee, MD program

Specialty, subspecialty: Dermatology, pediatric

HMNews: Why are you passionate about going into dermatology?

Sarah Lee: Before medical school, I worked in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) studying neurodevelopmental outcomes of premature infants, where I saw how deeply a child’s illness affects the entire family. In pediatric dermatology, I’ve seen that take on a new dimension because many skin conditions are visible and can shape a child’s confidence and social experiences.

I remember speaking with a mother whose 6-year-old daughter had alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes patchy hair loss and helping her think through how to explain it using a children’s book — even sharing the story with her class so her peers could learn alongside her. Moments like that are what I most look forward to in pediatric dermatology: helping children and families adapt and live fully with a condition, even when we cannot make it completely go away.

HMNews: Who mentored you and how did they play a role in helping you find your calling?

Lee: Dr. Jennifer Huang at Boston Children’s Hospital has been a formative mentor for me. I first met her while serving as community outreach director for the Pediatric Dermatology Student-Faculty Collaborative, where we organized educational programs for underserved families across Boston. Through working with her in the clinic, research, and community outreach, I came to see how pediatric dermatology can combine patient care, education, and advocacy to support children with skin disease and their families.

*Originally published in Harvard Medical School.