Reaching the culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and countless hours of
studying, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) students at all three campus locations gathered on March 17 to celebrate news of their residency placements at Match Day,
a momentous occasion marking the next step in their journey towards becoming physicians.
Match Day is an annual tradition coordinated by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), a private, non-profit organization that matches medical students with residency programs across the country for continued training after graduation. The residency placement lists for each campus location identify the residency programs, research fellowship programs or clinical fellowship programs where PCOM graduates have placed.
This year's placement data highlights continued success for the College across geographies, with 100% residency and clinical research placement for PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia students, and 99.6% for PCOM students in Philadelphia.
The data also reveals insightful trends, including a continued interest in the Primary Care specialties (Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine and OB/GYN), an area where Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) students have traditionally excelled. At PCOM, 48% of students were placed into residency programs for the Primary Care specialties. At PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia, students placed into Primary Care specialties at 55% and 45%, respectively.
Of particular note at PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia was the number of students placed into programs identified by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce as core specialty programs, including the four primary care specialties, in addition to Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine and General Surgery. The rates for each were 83% and 71%, respectively. Furthermore, 53 students from PCOM Georgia and 11 students from PCOM South Georgia matched with residencies within the state of Georgia.
According to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), this year saw a record-high number of 7,705 osteopathic medical students and past DO graduates matching into year 1 (PGY-1) residency positions through the NRMP. This number reflects a 92.3% match rate for the 8,033 DO seniors who participated, a 0.7% increase from last year.
The fourth-year students who placed this year will begin the next phase of their journeys on July 1 when they report to their respective residency programs and are officially recognized as doctors following commencement ceremonies in May.
For the past 125 years, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
Brandon Lausch
Executive Director, Strategic Communications
Email: brandonla@pcom.edu
Office: 215-871-6312 | Cell:
717-371-0609
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