Touro Osteopathic class celebrates National Residency Match Day

Touro University California College (TUC) of Osteopathic Medicine (TUCCOM), Class of 2021 celebrated a successful national residency match last week. Students were matched to 18 different medical specialties ranging from family medicine to pediatrics, emergency medicine, psychiatry medical genetics, dermatology, internal medicine and orthopedic surgery.

Two out of every three students graduating will enter primary care foundation residencies, the highest percentage in school history. Graduates matched from Washington to Florida and San Diego to New Hampshire, but nearly 60% will stay in California, also a record for the college.

This year’s graduates further expanded TUC’s presence in local, regional, and rural family medicine training programs, and matched to a broader mix of medicine training programs in California than ever before. The Class of 2021 proudly sends five graduates into military medicine and national service in the fields of Psychiatry, Surgery, Anesthesiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

“I want to let you all know how amazing you’ve all been,” said K. Scott Whitlow, Associate Dean of Clinical Education, who was experiencing Match Day for the first time. In recognizing this class has faced the usual medical school challenges, along with those generated by the COVID crisis, Dr. Whitlow continued, “You are going to be more prepared…in how you look at challenges, maybe more than any other class in the history of medical school.”

Across the country graduates of medical schools learned where they will be going for residency in a simultaneous online release of results that is considered a rite of passage for young physicians. The matching process starts in a student’s last year of medical school where they apply to various residency programs and submit a rank order list of their choices to the National Resident Matching Program. In turn, residency programs submit a list of their candidates in preferred order.

The Matching Program uses a computer algorithm to match students to residencies based on the student’s ranked order and complementary match with the program. While in residency for the next three to seven years, graduates will gain specialized training in their area of focus.

In reminding the students that some matches are a students’ top choice and some are less than their number one pick, Dr. Tami Hendriksz, Associate Dean of Clinical Education, told the Class of 2021 to be proud no matter what.

“Remember, they chose you. You are their match. I’ve seen the magic of the match work in amazing ways,” Dr. Hendriksz said. “We are all so lucky that you are the future of healthcare and of our profession.”