All graduating ARCOM students receive residency matches
by March 22, 2025 2:02 pm 817 views
Karman Biggs matched in family medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Fort Smith.
All of the 156 Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) students eligible to match for residency received assignments, with 15% of those staying in Fort Smith, and 66% locating in the ARCOM service area.
The college, part of the Fort Smith-based Arkansas Colleges of Health Education (ACHE), held the Class of 2025 Match Day event Friday (March 21) for the students who first arrived at the college in 2021.
According to ARCOM, 66% of the 156 graduating students landed residencies in primary care specialties, with 15% matching in Arkansas, 15% in Oklahoma, and 15% in Fort Smith. The matches included 39 in family medicine, 39 in internal medicine, 20 in psychiatry, 17 in pediatrics, and 15 in emergency medicine.
“Our students have achieved incredible matches, not only in our service area but also at prestigious institutions like the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and Einstein Philadelphia. Their success is a testament to their hard work and the excellence of our program,” ARCOM Dean Dr. Shannon Jimenez noted in a statement.
The average salary for residency students in Arkansas is around $80,000, according to ARCOM, with residency work being 3 to 7 years, depending on the specialty. After a residency, the doctors must pass a certifying board exam to practice medicine.
“With ARCOM meeting and exceeding above the pass rates on the national board exams, the result is our students being accepted into prestigious residencies. I am immensely proud of our faculty, staff, and students,” said ACHE CEO Kyle Parker.
ACHE was formed when Fort Smith-based Degen Foundation used part of $70 million from the sale of Sparks Health System in November 2009 to what was then Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates to build the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM) at Chaffee Crossing. The $32.4 million college and its 103,000 square feet is home to 600 medical students. ACHE includes five programs: the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM), School of Physical Therapy (ACHE PT), School of Occupational Therapy (ACHE OT), Master of Science in Biomedicine (MSB), and Master of Public Health (MPH). Also part of ACHE is the Research Institute Health & Wellness Center (RIHWC), a 317,000-square-foot facility that includes a biomedical research lab.