PCOM Georgia Students Succeed in Residency Matches

March 30, 2020

Fourth year osteopathic medicine and pharmacy students matched into a variety of residency programs around the country.

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On March 20, more than 120 PCOM Georgia fourth year medical students matched into residency programs with about 68 percent choosing to specialize in primary care which includes family medicine, internal medicine, OB/GYN and pediatrics. PCOM Georgia students also matched into a wide range of specialties including anesthesiology, emergency medicine, general surgery, neurology, orthopedic surgery, osteo neuromuscular medicine, pathology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry and radiology.

DO Matches

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) students were accepted into such Georgia programs as Augusta University/University of Georgia Partnership, Athens; Coliseum Medical Center, Macon; Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta; Floyd Medical Center, Rome; Medical Center of Georgia/Navicent Health/Mercer University, Macon; Medical College of Georgia, Augusta; Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta; Northeast Georgia Health System, Gainesville; Northside Hospital Gwinnett, Lawrenceville; Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital, Athens; Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital, Columbus; Redmond Regional Medical Center, Rome; South Georgia Medical Education and Research Consortium, Moultrie; and WellStar Kennestone Hospital, Marietta.

Pharmacy Matches

In addition, 10 Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students matched into residency programs during phase one of the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists Match process at such programs as the Atlanta VA Health Care System, Decatur; Northeast Georgia Health System, Gainesville; Northside Hospital, Atlanta; PCOM School of Pharmacy/WellStar North Fulton, Suwanee; and WellStar Cobb Hospital, Austell.

Celebrating Virtually

Provost Ken Veit, DO, congratulated students on their Match success. In a video, he said, “The classes of PCOM 2020 in all our programs and on all our campuses have succeeded exceptionally well in your various matches... I know all of you will represent PCOM at the highest level as you move on to your first professional jobs. I could not be more proud of each of you.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Match Day celebration on campus and afterwards at a brewery in Lawrenceville were cancelled. However, many students shared through social media how they celebrated their matches individually and with family and friends.

Stories of Resiliency

Two students had stories to tell.

According to Tanner Cabbage (DO ’20) who matched into pediatrics at the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga, milestone moments in medical school have coincided with unusual circumstances that tested his resiliency.

He explained that, during preparation for his first board exam, he and his wife traveled to South Africa over spring break. He brought his study materials and laptop along so he could efficiently use the 16-hour flight time. Just before the trip ended, “Everything down to our socks and toothbrush were stolen,” giving him about two months to reset.

A year later, Cabbage was studying for his second board exam when his wife gave birth early, four days before the test. He finished final studies at the hospital while his family napped.

“It seems apropos that when I received the NRMP email informing me that I had successfully matched, I was on the floor playing with my ten-month-old son, Parker,” he said. A native Tennessean who graduated from the University of Tennessee, Cabbage celebrated the results with his family, including his parents and brother who joined him from the “Volunteer” state.

Tyler Drury (DO ’20), who matched to internal medicine at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia and Alexandra Cruz (DO ’20), who also matched in internal medicine at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) in Philadelphia, spent a year planning a celebration trip to Chamonix, France, to ski Mont-Blanc with their families. Drury also planned to propose to his classmate during the trip. The couple boarded their flight for the first leg of the journey to Miami on March 12 and learned when they landed that their families would not be joining them due to travel restrictions.

They continued on and on March 14 Tyler asked Ale to marry him at Aguille du Midi in the French Alps and she said yes! As the country was closing its borders, they soon left, headed to Geneva, Switzerland, with plans to get home as soon as possible. They took a detour to London and found out where they matched on March 20 while on an airplane over the Atlantic Ocean. They’re both now in quarantine, but believed it was more than coincidental that they posed in front of a Philadelphia “love” sign in Geneva before leaving Europe.

More Firsts

For DO students, this year marked the first time osteopathic medicine students matched alongside their allopathic peers in the 2020 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Match. PCOM Georgia students were among the 90.7 percent of DO students nationwide who matched into residency programs in 38 specialties, according to the American Osteopathic Association.

Tina Woodruff, EdD, senior advisor to the provost, residency and career planning, said, “We are so proud of the success of our PCOM Georgia students in this year’s matches. We can be confident that the future of healthcare is in good hands.”

View more match day stories at our Match List hub.

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