NYITCOM enjoys 99% placement rate with latest class

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University (NYITCOM at A-State) enjoyed a 99% placement rate through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), the Jonesboro-based medical school recently announced.

“I’m so incredibly proud of this group,” said Shane Speights, dean of NYITCOM at A-State. “These student doctors have worked incredibly hard to earn these highly-competitive positions, and we are thrilled for each and every one of them. I’m also very proud of our faculty and staff who have taught, mentored, and encouraged these students. Everyone associated with our medical school has a lot to be grateful for today.”

Medical schools across the country celebrated Match Day Friday (March 15), an annual event through which soon-to-be medical school graduates learn where they’ll perform their postgraduate specialty training, known as residency.

The Class of 2024 is the fifth class for NYITCOM’s Arkansas campus, which opened in 2016 through a private-public partnership with Arkansas State University. In total, 104 NYITCOM at A-State student doctors matched, with an initial match rate of 96% and final placement of 99%.

NYITCOM at A-State was established to train medical students to help address a growing physician shortage in Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta region. This year, more than half of NYITCOM at A-State graduates were placed into programs that will keep them in Arkansas, a targeted-Delta state, or a state contiguous to Arkansas.

The school also encourages students to pursue primary care specialties due to the significant needs in those areas in Arkansas and the Delta. This year, 65% of NYITCOM at A-State students matched into primary care positions, including 30% in internal medicine, 15% in family medicine, and 20% who will specialize in psychiatry, pediatrics, general surgery or obstetrics/gynecology.

“The most significant needs in our state and region are in those front-line specialties,” Speights said. “Front-line physicians are those physicians that provide that valuable, initial assessment and care to the citizens of our state. We place an emphasis on those specialties, and it’s fantastic to see so many of our students pursue those fields.”

Additionally, NYITCOM at A-State’s Class of 2024 had a number of its students match into highly-competitive specialties such as anesthesiology, dermatology, diagnostic radiology, and orthopedic surgery. Twenty members of the class matched into emergency medicine.

NYITCOM at A-State students gathered Friday (March 15) with their families and NYITCOM at A-State faculty and staff at the Red Wolf Convention Center at Embassy Suites for a celebration event. The students were given envelopes with their match placement.

Upon the completion of medical school, physicians must complete residency to obtain their license to practice medicine in the United States. Residencies typically last three to seven years, depending on the specialty. During their final year of medical school, student doctors apply and interview for residencies. Once they’ve completed their interviews, the student doctors rank their preferred programs, and the programs rank their preferred candidates they’ve interviewed.

The NRPM then uses an algorithm to “match” candidates with programs based on rankings. On Friday, student doctors around the country found out where they’ve matched and where they subsequently will be performing their residencies, which typically start in the first week of July.

The NYITCOM at A-State Class of 2024 will celebrate its commencement and hooding ceremony on May 24.