Match Day Profile: Dallin Stevens

Every third Friday in March, fourth-year medical students across the United States learn where the next chapter in their careers will be written. Match Day is the day when the National Resident Matching Program releases results to applicants in sealed envelopes, revealing where they will spend the next several years in residency, training in their chosen specialty. After years of preparation and study, it is a long-awaited and well-deserved day to celebrate. The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix is profiling several students for Match Day 2023.

Meet Dallin Stevens

Growing up in Thatcher, Arizona, a small town in the Southeast of the state, Dallin Stevens has always had a passion for rural medicine. With commencement just weeks away, his desire to stay in Arizona to help underserved communities — like his — is closer than ever.

Stevens, who graduated from Arizona State University, credits his supportive family with helping to navigate the rigors of medical school. Without their words of encouragement, the journey would have proved much more difficult.

Path Toward Medicine

What was the spark that led you to become a physician?

As a teenager, I would help a close family friend, and the only general surgeon for miles, on his cattle ranch. A trauma surgeon by training, he was my first introduction to what a career in medicine could look like. I would listen to his stories and was able to recognize his effect on our community. It was through these interactions that I knew I wanted to be a physician.

Choosing a Specialty

Do you have a specialty? What is it and why did it interest you, or what led you to it?

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to rotate in the emergency department of my hometown as a third-year medical student. This was literally my dream job. I fell in love with helping people during their most dire circumstances. I also fell in love with the people of the emergency department — the techs, nurses, physicians and other staff. I had in fact “found my people.” I look forward to pursuing a career where I can be the first line of comfort and clinical expertise for someone in need.

What’s Next

Post-Match Day, what are your goals moving forward?

I have witnessed first-hand the desperate need for rural physicians. After matching and completing residency, I desire to stay in Arizona and serve these communities. I would love to return home and practice as a rural emergency medicine physician to provide care to the community that means so much to me.

The College of Medicine – Phoenix Culture

What will you miss most about the College of Medicine – Phoenix? Any advice for incoming medical students?

Hands down, the people that I have met all along the way. Over the past four years, I have made friendships that will last the rest of my life. It is bittersweet to think I won’t routinely see these people as we move all across the country for residency programs, but I’m excited to see what we all accomplish in the future.

If I were talking to incoming students, I feel like I could offer advice on so many different things, although I am not sure how helpful it would be. All I will say is that medical school can be very difficult — to the point where, as you are in the middle of your training, it may not even seem worth it at times. But, by recalling the friendships it has helped build and the impact you are making, and will make, in the lives of your patients, you will remember that is 100% worth it.