Medical students in Jonesboro to participate in military residencies

Six members of New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine-Arkansas’ inaugural class were matched to U.S. military residencies last week and will begin their Graduate Medical Education (GME) in conjunction with military service.

NYITCOM-Arkansas students who participated in the military match include: Severiano “Brock” Acebo (Navy), Internal Medicine, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va.; Raegan Austin (Air Force) Pediatrics, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Hospital, Dayton, Ohio; Corbett Hall (Navy), Family Medicine, Naval Hospital Camp LeJune, Jacksonville, N.C.; Joseph Lipat (Navy), Family Medicine, Navy Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla.; Andrea Lombardi (Army), General Surgery, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hi.; and Holly Sensabaugh (Air Force), Family Medicine, Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nev.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for NYITCOM-Arkansas and we couldn’t be more proud of our six student doctors who received their military match notifications last week,” said Shane Speights, D.O., Dean of NYITCOM-Arkansas. “These student doctors are to be commended not only for their incredible accomplishment of completing their undergraduate medical education, but also for their decision to serve our country as they prepare to embark on their military residencies.”

Upon completion of medical school, physicians must complete a residency training program to obtain a medical license to practice medicine in the U.S. and become board certified in the physician’s specialty. Medical residencies last three to five years for primary care physicians, while some specialties require additional years. Medical students who have committed to military service to complete their medical education are matched in December, while the “civilian” match takes place on March 20, 2020.

NYITCOM-Arkansas students participating in the Military Match received expert guidance throughout the process from Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Amanda Deel, D.O., who spent five years in the U.S. Navy following her completion of medical school.

“Our student doctors who were matched last week are not only committing to serve their fellow man, but also their country,” Deel said. “My time in the Navy was one of the greatest and most rewarding experiences of my life, and I’m thrilled for our students who are certain to gain similar invaluable lessons as they begin their graduate medical education and enter active duty in the military.”

NYITCOM-Arkansas, which began operating on the Arkansas State University campus in 2016, will hold its first graduation and hooding ceremony on May 21, 2020.