The perfect match

Match Day for medical college students can be one of the most stressful days of their collegiate career because it’s a day when students find out where they’ve matched for residency.

For Medical College of Georgia students Emily Austin and Anderson Krueger, not only will they have the stresses of the day, but the stresses of planning a wedding as they are getting married a week later.

Austin and Krueger are both from Georgia and met on the first day of class at MCG. Students are assigned to small groups, and they just happened to be in one together. In fact, they were assigned seats next to each other. They started to talk, found out they had a lot in common and then started dating. In May of 2023, they got engaged and will be getting married the week after Match Day.

Austin is going into ophthalmology and knew early on what she wanted out of her medical school experience. She also knew MCG was the place to be. She applied for early admissions and realized it was a place where she could thrive.

Her desire for the field started after talking with classmates which led to her searching out more information.

 “I watched these videos of ophthalmologists going into third-world countries and doing a 10-minute surgery and taking someone from blindness to sight,” said Austin. “I thought how can I not want to do this? Then, I started job shadowing, and the more I shadowed, the more I liked it. So, it kind of came out of left field for me, but I’m really excited about it.”

“I’m very thankful to have gone through medical school with my partner. I think it’s nice because we know each other, we’re going through it at all points. We’re on the same journey together, and I think we really can support each other. I think it was awesome.”

Emily Austin

Krueger’s plan involves internal medicine, and he’d like to eventually go into cardiology. It all came about after playing football in high school when he got hurt and had to undergo some surgeries. That was the spark for the medical profession.

“I was originally set on physical therapy. But then in college, I decided I didn’t like that but still wanted to do something in health care,” said Krueger. “I took some science classes, some anatomy and physiology classes and really loved those and kind of stumbled on this path to medicine. It came together and worked out.”

They knew the reputation of MCG and, since both are from the state of Georgia, wanted to stay somewhat close to home. It was pretty much a no-brainer for them to come to Augusta University.

They feel MCG has just the right class sizes where everyone can get to know their classmates and develop relationships beyond the lab.

Being in ophthalmology, Austin has already matched for her residency. Now, Krueger is having to go through some of the anxiety of Match Day and admits he’s “super nervous,” even though they are hopeful they’ll end up at the same location. Normally, they’d be able to match as a couple, but with her being an early match, they’ve had to go through the process of not officially knowing.

“We had to discuss with residency program directors in interviews the fact that we are getting married and want to train in the same location, so it’s been a little bit more of an informal process,” Austin said.

The two even joke marriage is not contingent on his Match Day placement. 

Having each other and knowing the stresses that come with the medical field has helped the couple. They have a much better understanding of what each is going through. Of course, they’ve had their moments of wondering if their career choice was the right choice.

“We kind of call it imposter syndrome,” said Krueger. “Where you have doubts that you deserve to be here and that you can make it through, and I think that happens to every student at some point. It’s just the reality of the overwhelming nature of medical school curriculum.”

But they have each other’s shoulder to lean on to get through those tough times.

“I’m very thankful to have gone through medical school with my partner. I think it’s nice because we know each other, we’re going through it at all points,” Austin said. “We’re on the same journey together, and I think we really can support each other. I think it was awesome.”

They also credit older students who have mentored them along the way. Austin indicated they’ve also found other couples who have matched and have gotten a fair amount of advice from them. It has helped ease the daily stresses that come with the medical field and that come with Match Day.

Through their Bible studies, Austin and Krueger also met Jonathan Lindman, MD, and his wife Kimberly. They have taken on a role of mentors outside the classroom. They’ve helped with any medical school questions but also have assisted in the marriage proces, so much so that he will officiate their wedding.

They likely will end up out of state for their residency but are hoping to return to Georgia to practice medicine. While they have two different specialties, they still want to be able to help the less fortunate in other areas.

“We’re definitely hoping to tie in some mission work to our careers,” Austin said. “We’ll have to find somewhere both of us can go. But it’s great because he’ll have the internal medicine background, and he’ll be able to do everything. We definitely hope to do that together.”