RowanSOM sends nearly 200 to areas hospitals—and they can’t wait to get there

The students in the Class of 2022 at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM) have had this day circled on their calendars since they donned their first white lab coats four years ago. And, shortly before noon on Friday, March 18, nearly 200 of this year's graduating class joined thousands of medical students across the country in realizing a long-pursued dream—finding out where they “matched” to the residency program that will begin their careers as doctors.

This year, after two years of virtual events, RowanSOM’s celebration was again “live and in person” at Lucien’s Manor in Berlin. Accompanied by their guests, the RowanSOM students received greetings from school administrators, before receiving the thin envelopes that contained the precious information about their futures. A few minutes later, the entire crowd counted down the final few seconds before the students simultaneously opened their envelopes. Within seconds, the banquet room exploded in sound as the future physicians’ cheers of joy and tears of happiness melted into a celebratory cacophony that was occasionally muffled by embraces from family members, loved ones and fellow students.

The RowanSOM Class of 2022 continued a decades long legacy of achievement on Match Day. The school’s 98 percent Match rate was significantly higher than this year's national average Match rates for graduates of either allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO) medical schools.

In a message to the RowanSOM community, Dean Dr. Thomas Cavalieri praised the Class of 2022, noting they achieved that milestone in difficult conditions “while living and learning through a pandemic during the last two years of their medical education.” He noted that the students matched to highly competitive programs across the country—including Alabama, Ohio, California and Hawaii—while also sending a large number to residency programs in New Jersey. Indeed, 80 of the students will be continuing their medical training in residency programs at RowanSOM or the school’s partner programs, and half of the class will pursue residencies in the important primary care disciplines.

Anesthesiology, dermatology, urology, orthopedic surgery, radiology and urology were among the highly sought specialties where RowanSOM students secured positions. Among the prominent national programs where they matched were Brown University, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Duke University, Georgetown University Hospital, and University of California Irvine Medical Center.

This year, more than 42,000 graduating medical students applied for a match through the National Residency Match Program. Last year, only 38,106 positions were available through the Match with several specialties only able to accept small numbers of graduates each year.