Rowan-Virtua SOM Match Day reveals 99.5 percent placement of medical school graduates

Years of study, dreams, commitment and concentration all boiled down to the contents of a sealed envelope, and in a moment it was over.

Match!

On March 15, students at Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine gathered in the ballroom of the Doubletree by Hilton hotel in Cherry Hill to learn where they’d match for their residency, and the news was good indeed.

In all, 201 students – 99.5 percent of the Class of 2024 – matched with a residency program, and the final student in the class expects positive news of a match in the coming days.

Noting “it’s been a long haul,” Monica Sharobeam of Galloway Township learned she’d matched with the psychiatry program at Jefferson Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia.

“I am so excited to get started with my career!” Sharobeam said.

Maryanna Schweininger of Bloomfield, who will specialize in internal medicine, matched with Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Her partner, Jonathan Ferro, also matched at Cooper for a residency in radiology.

“It’s just surreal,” Schweininger said. “We matched in a couples match and we’re very, very happy!”

Of those matching for residencies, 52 percent will pursue careers in primary care and 45 percent of the class will complete residency programs in New Jersey. Graduates will complete residencies in a wide range of other medical fields including:

• Anesthesiology 10
• Emergency Medicine 19
• Interventional Radiology 3
• Neurology 3
• Obstetrics-Gynecology 11
• Pediatrics 16
• Psychiatry 16
• General Surgery 6

The National Resident Matching Program reported that across the U.S., students at osteopathic medical schools, which grant the DO degree, achieved a 92.3 percent match rate, an all-time high and an increase of 0.7 percentage points over 2023. The NRMP also reported that students at allopathic medical schools, which grant the MD degree, realized a 93.5 percent match rate nationally, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from 2023.

Interim SOM Dean Dr. Richard Jermyn said aside from a match rate that far surpassed the national average, students in this year’s class were remarkable for their dedication and resilience, especially considering they began medical school during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jermyn said 90 percent or more of the class took part in vast vaccination clinics and other outreach to help blunt the impact of the fast spreading disease across the region.

“We were under tents, in bus terminals, in food banks, from Atlantic City and back, doing vaccinations, telehealth for addiction and so much more,” Jermyn said. “This class makes me optimistic because they embody what the mission of SOM is all about.”