Attention! Eight Rowan-Virtua SOM students participate in Military Match Day

Military Match Day 2025 offered eight Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) fourth-year students on military scholarships an early look at where they will begin residency training in summer 2025. For many, the day marked the culmination of years of academic rigor, service commitment and personal sacrifice—revealing not just where they matched, but where they will begin the next chapter of their lives as military physicians.

“We are so proud of our students who serve in every branch of the military,” said Richard Jermyn, dean of Rowan-Virtua SOM. “Service is at the center of SOM’s mission, and these students bring that mission to life through their work with veterans, active-duty service members and their families.”

For Jenna Rose Pluchino, the day brought a deeply personal and professionally meaningful result: a match at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Rather than opening the email on campus, Pluchino chose to go home to be with her parents. “Regardless of the outcome, I knew I wanted to be with them when I opened it,” she said.

Military match notifications differ from their civilian counterparts but offer the same suspense. “You’re feverishly reading to find where you matched,” Jenna explained. After navigating the lengthy abbreviation for Walter Reed—WRNMMC—the realization set in. “When I finally understood what it said, I couldn’t believe it.”

“Matching at Walter Reed felt surreal,” Pluchino said. Adding to the excitement, her fiancé also matched there. “After many years spent apart, knowing we’ll be working at the same hospital feels like everything is finally falling into place,” she said. “We couldn’t be happier.”

Christian Iannuzzelli, another Rowan-Virtua SOM student who participated in Military Match Day, shared a similar sense of excitement when he learned he had matched at Travis Air Force Base. “I felt absolutely over the moon,” he said. “It was my number one choice, and I am so incredibly excited and fortunate to be at a program where the faculty and other residents care so much about each other and our learning.”

For Iannuzelli, matching into a family medicine residency represents the realization of a long-held goal. “Being given the chance to do a family medicine residency has been my dream for the past three to four years,” he said. “To actually be able to start that dream is exhilarating.”

Both students noted that the military match process differs significantly from the civilian match. Iannuzzelli described it as more streamlined and personal. “It truthfully is less stressful, and I enjoyed the pathway much more,” he said. “The military is a ‘small world’ organization—everyone from different programs knew each other and spoke highly of one another. It felt like I wasn’t just interviewing for residency but interviewing to become part of a system and a family.”

Pluchino and Iannuzzelli are recipients of the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), a comprehensive scholarship through which the U.S. military covers tuition, provides a monthly stipend and reimburses learning-related expenses. In return, recipients commit to residency training at a military-affiliated or civilian institution and a period of active-duty service following graduation. Each military branch also maintains specific training requirements during medical school.

Residency training at military hospitals is comparable to civilian programs in terms of curriculum and expectations but differs in patient population. Military physicians care for active-duty service members, their families and retirees. After residency, physicians serve as commissioned officers and are assigned based on the needs of the military, which may include practicing at different military treatment facilities, overseas assignments or operational roles.

“I’m really looking forward to the possibility of practicing overseas one day,” Pluchino said.

As she prepares to begin her obstetrics and gynecology residency, Pluchino is eager to apply years of training. “I’m excited to meet my co-residents, learn from faculty and really focus on patient care and surgical skills,” she said. For now, she’s preparing in a practical way: “I’m doing what I can to catch up on sleep,” she joked. “Bring on intern year.”