Jessica Pereira, a 30-year-old medical student, was filled with heartbreak when she opened the Match Day email. It informed her that she hadn’t been placed into any of her first or second choice surgical programs.
Jessica Pereira isn’t among those medical students who had dreamed of being a doctor their entire lives. But she’s just as determined to achieve her goals. After ending her competitive swimming career and giving up her Olympic dreams, she decided that the hospital environment was where she belonged and dove into a whole new field.
After graduating from college, this native of Florida faced her first major obstacle at the doors of medical schools in the United States. She didn’t get accepted anywhere in the country. So, she chose to attend the Trinity School of Medicine in the Caribbean. For four years, she dedicated herself to studying. Whether she was spending long hours in the library or, towards the end of her studies, doing rotations at hospitals in the U.S., she worked hard.
With her graduation in May in sight, 30-year-old Pereira applied for two types of residencies: plastic surgery and general surgery. On March 17, when the match day results were sent to medical students’ inboxes, Pereira was devastated to read an email saying she hadn’t been accepted into any program for either of her chosen specialties.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Pereira admitted that she knew getting into plastic surgery was a difficult thing, especially since she had attended an international medical school. But she was shocked to be rejected by her second choice for residency. “I really thought I was going to get into general surgery. In fact, when I was doing my rotation at one of the general surgery programs, one of the program directors told me, ‘If I could offer you a spot right now, I would, but it’s against the rules to do it outside of the match cycle,'” she remembered. “The chief resident at the program I really thought I’d get into said I was one of the best medical students they’d ever had.”
Her plan was to complete the five-year general surgery program and then enroll in a plastics fellowship. No matter what difficulties she faced, she was determined to find a way to reach her goals. This kind of positive and persistent mindset is part of who she is.
“I’m someone who always has hope,” Pereira said. “I’ve really put myself out there. I’ve fought for opportunities. I’ve sat at interview tables with Ivy League graduates for any chance I could get. So I thought, ‘If I’ve come this far and turned difficult situations around, I can’t give up on myself.'”
Driven by her optimism and encouraged by the compliments she received during her rotations, Pereira had high hopes for success. For the past two years, she’s been documenting her medical school journey on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. She’s shared both the good times and the more challenging moments. She was so confident that her announcement on Monday would be a happy one.
“I really thought I was going to match. I even bought my Match Day outfit. I knew exactly which audio I was going to use for my social media post,” she said. “But on Monday, I was completely shocked. I couldn’t believe it.”
On Tuesday, she posted a tearful video. “I really don’t know the best way to deal with this. I didn’t match,” Pereira started in her nearly three-minute TikTok update, which has been viewed more than 89,000 times on the app.
After thanking her followers, friends, and the wider network for their support over the past day, she continued, “I’m just so tired of feeling like this. It seems like I keep putting myself in a position where I get hurt, and I build myself up only to fall and get broken even more.”
A few days later, Pereira told PEOPLE that she was still dealing with a rollercoaster of emotions.
“I sit here and think, ‘Does this mean I’m going to be one of those people? I have a medical degree, but I won’t be able to use it? Does this mean I’m not meant to be a surgeon? What should I do?’ It’s really tough,” she said.
It was hard for her to post the news in the first place. But just like with many of her other social media posts, Pereira felt the need to show the less-seen side of her journey. She admitted that during medical school, she often felt alone and like she was the only one struggling.
“Most of what you see on social media are success stories. People make it look so easy and fun. And here I am, feeling miserable, crying all the time, and not knowing which way is up,” said the aspiring surgeon. “There’s so much pressure to be perfect in medical school, and you feel like you’re the only one who’s not.”
When she started doing rotations at hospitals in the U.S., Pereira finally met other medical students who had similar experiences to hers. These encounters inspired her to go online and openly talk about all the challenges she faced on her path to becoming a surgeon.
“One of the reasons we feel so alone is that no one talks about these things. So I took a risk and decided to just share how I feel,” she explained.
For the most part, her content has received a lot of support and positive feedback. She was especially touched by the messages and comments she got in response to her Match Day video. She’s heard from pre-med undergraduates, first and second-year medical students, and several doctors and surgeons.
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