Fourth-year students from the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine found out today where they will train for the next three to seven years. A total of 75 students from the Class of 2021 students matched, representing a 100% match rate for the class.
Coordinated by the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), the main residency match process uses a computerized mathematical algorithm that pairs the preferences of applicants with the preferences of residency programs, resulting in a best result for graduating students. Due to COVID-19, Marshall’s traditional Match Day celebration was canceled. Many of the students, instead, opened their results at home with their families.
“This class has continuously shown its resilience and dedication to the medical profession throughout the pandemic,” said Amy M. Smith, B.S.N., M.Ed., associate dean of student affairs. “The matching process is highly competitive, and a 100% match rate doesn’t happen by chance. These students have put in a tremendous amount of hard work and study hours in preparation for this day.”
Fifty-six percent matched into primary care residencies, which are identified in West Virginia as family medicine, internal medicine, internal medicine/pediatrics, pediatrics and obstetrics/gynecology. Other students were accepted into anesthesiology, emergency medicine, general surgery, neurology, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology, pathology, psychiatry and radiology programs. Four students also matched in the military match that occurred in late 2020, and one student participated in the San Francisco Specialty Match earlier this year for ophthalmology. Twenty-one students will remain in West Virginia to complete their residency training.
“Match Day is such an incredible experience for medical students,” said David Bartlett, president of the fourth-year class. “It’s the culmination of all our hard work and dedication over the last several years, not just in medical school, but also the path that led here. It’s the finality of knowing that as we finish our journey as students, we learn where we will begin our journey as physicians. As a first-generation college student I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity I have to be a part of this profession and to represent Marshall. Go Herd!”
Across the country, this is the largest match on record, according to the NRMP with 48,700 registered applicants submitted program choices for 38,106 available positions.
View the complete published match list for the School of Medicine’s Class of 2021 at https://jcesom.marshall.edu/media/59590/jcesom-class-of-2021-match-list-published.pdf.
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Photos: From left, fourth-year medical students Ben Frear, Ife Fuwap and Allison Thompson share their 2021 Residency Match results.