Alexander Mullen, M.D., neuroradiology fellow, and Cathy Chen, M.D., breast imaging fellow, “couples matched” with the UAB Department of Radiology in 2019. While the process was stressful, it was critical for them to be in the same location as a relatively newly married couple. They describe the process of couples matching, the challenges they faced while training in the same program, and how they grew in both their careers and personal lives with the help of the community they built in the department.
Mullen and Chen met in pre-school and grew up together in Oxford, Mississippi. They shared most extracurricular activities as well as went on family vacations together. When they graduated high school in 2010, they went their separate ways for school. Chen went to Princeton University and Mullen went to Johns Hopkins University, but they continued dating long distance. After undergrad, they reunited, and both went to medical school at the University of Mississippi. The couple got engaged and married in 2015, after their first year of medical school, celebrating 10 years this August. When they decided to apply for residency, they knew they wanted to go to UAB and were thankful to couples match with the Department of Radiology.
Couples match is when two residency applicants link their rank order lists to find positions in the same location. According to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), a couple will match to the most preferred pair of programs on their rank order lists where each partner has been offered a position.
“Couples matching was definitely an intense process, especially with radiology being fairly competitive,” Mullen said. “We applied to dozens of programs across the country and accrued quite a lot of frequent flyer miles since this was before everything went virtual. It was certainly stressful but also fun to navigate the process with Cathy. Thankfully, it worked out perfectly, and we were thrilled to match together at UAB.”
The search didn’t stop there. Mullen and Chen went through the couples match process a second time for fellowship, although they said that the process was much simpler.
“We love radiology, so it’s been really fun to learn together,” Chen said. “Residency is such a unique experience and having the chance to go through it together, especially being in the same specialty and same program, means we have a better understanding of what the other is experiencing. Also, if we’re working on something at home, there’s a second set of eyes if we need to run something by each other.”
As great as it is to have someone to share the experience of residency so closely with, Mullen and Chen did face some challenges that came with being in the same residency class, like also being in the same call pool.
“There were definitely days (weeks) where we were on opposite schedules or had to hand off the baby in the parking garage,” Mullen said. “There’s no way we would’ve been able to do this without the true MVP, Cathy’s mom.”
Mullen and Chen are the proud parents of two daughters, one born during residency and the other born during fellowship.
“It’s very hard to have kids during residency. We would not have been able to do it without my mom’s support”, Chen said. “We’re so lucky my parents were able to get a condo just five minutes from our house.”
Some things that helped the new parents in this season of life were having great co-residents who also became parents the at same time, having a lot of support with pumping at work (Dr. Aparna Singhal started the radiology women lactation group), and having a community within the Department.
There were also benefits of having a kid in residency, one being perspective.
“We’re full of gratitude: grateful to be able to do what we do and grateful for our family,” Chen said. “Being around our daughters has made laughter a part of our daily routine.”
Mullen and Chen want to help others who go through residency and are in the same season of life. For their QI project, they put together a presentation with resources and frequently asked questions for new parents in the program to navigate parental leave.
“Navigating HR paperwork and GME requirements can be daunting at first, but we’ve done it twice now and wanted to share what we’ve learned with other residents,” said Mullen.
Other advice they have for couples who couples match are to have a shared Google calendar and rely on your village. Communication and community are key aspects to making it work.
Throughout the years, Mullen and Chen have always had the most fun when doing things together. Carpooling to a swim meet, doing AP calculus homework, studying for endless tests, buying a house, and becoming parents, they are thankful to have experienced so much life together, and residency is just their latest chapter.
“There are days when I look over at Alex in the reading room and still see the boy I had a crush on, and I’m just amazed that we’re here today: parents of two amazing kids and getting to do our dream jobs,” Chen said. “Life is even sweeter than I imagined it would be.”