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Mother And Daughter To Start Medical Residencies At LSU Health

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right. So to become a doctor in this country, medical students have to go through what is called a matching process to get their residency assignments. Now, any parent would be proud to learn your child has matched to their medical residency program of choice, right? But what if the mother also matched and it was at the same medical school?

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is exactly what happened to doctors Cynthia and Jasmine Kudji. Cynthia, the mom, lives in Alabama. She told us about the day they got the news that they would both be completing their residencies at the same hospital, Louisiana State University School of Medicine.

CYNTHIA KUDJI: When I found out, I called her. I was like, oh, my God. I matched. I matched. And she was like, you matched, Mommy (laughter). So then right after that, she got a notification, and she see opened it up, and it was like, Mom, we both matched. And I'm like, oh, my God. So she was crying. I was crying.

GREENE: Jasmine, her 23-year-old daughter, lives two states away in Louisiana. And she says life was not always easy.

JASMINE KUDJI: My mom has - she's been through a lot. You know, she started at the age of 22 or 23, you know, with me. She was a single parent. And, you know, to make ends meet, she would clean people's houses. And, you know, as her daughter, to see my mother, you know, struggle and persevere, you know, has really pushed me to do my best.

MARTIN: Jasmine is pursuing general surgery. Cynthia is focusing on family medicine. Mother and daughter will be living together for a few months during their rotations. Jasmine says she's definitely looking forward to that part.

J KUDJI: That will be very nice to have her there as, like, you know, a support system. When I'm tired of being in the hospital, I can go visit her, and she can cook dinner for me (laughter), you know, and just be there and be mom for me, you know?

MARTIN: Mother and daughter Cynthia and Jasmine Kudji planning and pursuing their futures together, both physicians, both completing their residencies at LSU School of Medicine.

(SOUNDBITE OF OF WATER'S "THE POWERS OF THE UNIVERSE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Lisa Weiner is a line producer on Morning Edition. For NPR, she's covered the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and traveled to Ukraine to cover the Russian invasion in 2022. Prior to joining NPR, she held positions as an editor at WTOP-FM, as an engineer at Radio Free Asia and recorded audio books for the Library of Congress. Weiner has a master's degree in audio technology from American University. She got her start in radio working the late-night shift as a student DJ in the basement of WRUR-FM at the University of Rochester. Weiner has lived in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Budapest, Hungary.
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