Students secure neurosurgery, plastic surgery, other competitive residency placements

As medical students near graduation, they participate in Match Day, when the National Resident Matching Program places U.S. fourth-year students into residency programs. For these physicians-to-be, the event provides a clear answer to a question that will define their lives for years to come: What’s next?

This year, Match Day took place on March 20. For the second consecutive year, one West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) student matched to a residency in plastic surgery, considered among the most competitive medical specialties.

Other highly competitive specialties to which students matched this year include neurosurgery, with one student; interventional radiology, with one student; urology, with three students; and orthopedic surgery, with three students. Additionally, nine students earned residencies in anesthesiology.

WVSOM students achieved a 99% residency placement rate, with 180 members of the Class of 2026 receiving jobs as resident physicians following their completion of medical school in May.

At gatherings on the school’s Lewisburg campus and virtually, Gail Swarm, D.O., WVSOM’s interim chief academic officer, wished students success as they enter residencies.

“The journey to get here wasn’t easy, but you showed up, you stayed the course and you made it happen,” Swarm said. “But Match Day isn’t your finish line, it simply opens your next chapter. I wish you confidence, growth and excitement for what comes next.”

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, commended students for successfully overcoming the rigors of medical school.

“Today is a special day when all medical students find out where they will be doing their residency. It is the culmination of four years of dedicated study and hard work. Everyone at WVSOM is proud of our graduating osteopathic medical students,” Nemitz said.

A total of 82 students in the Class of 2026 will enter primary care residency programs, encompassing the fields of family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.

Other popular specialties for this year’s class include emergency medicine, with 27 students; psychiatry, with 17 students; and general surgery and OB-GYN, with nine students each.

A total of 34 students matched to residencies in West Virginia, including placements at hospitals in Bridgeport, Charleston, Huntington, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Ronceverte and Wheeling.

Maureen McClellan, of Waynesboro, Pa., matched to a family medicine residency at CAMC Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte, W.Va. She said she looks forward to entering a residency that will allow her to stay in the area in which she attended medical school.

“I really like the area, and I’m excited about getting to learn and be part of a community that’s done so much to raise me up,” said McClellan, who is originally from Waynesboro, Pa. “I’m thankful for all the support I had throughout medical school from our faculty and staff.”

Abigail Frank, D.O., WVSOM’s associate dean of graduate medical education, praised students for their commitment to careers in osteopathic medicine.

“We celebrate your years of dedication, late nights and perseverance in becoming a physician,” Frank said. “Today marks the beginning of each of your professional journeys, and we are honored to have been part of your path. We are incredibly proud of you.”

WVSOM’s D.O. Class of 2026 Commencement Ceremony will take place May 1 on the school’s campus in Lewisburg.