Following protocols set by government health officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the school leadership delivered congratulatory remarks to its first Match Day class through a video conferencing platform. Students were invited to join the Match Day event a few minutes before noon at which point the forty-four students opened an email link revealing which hospital-based residency program they matched to.
This year, 100% of the students who entered were matched to a residency program and 78% of the students were accepted at New York City-area hospitals following their medical school graduation in May.
Known as the gold standard for recruiting students who are underrepresented in medicine for careers as physicians practicing in underserved areas—along with historically Black colleges and universities—the medical school’s pioneering curriculum emphasizes a holistic approach to care that integrates a patient’s social and economic circumstances. With the demand for primary physicians growing faster than supply, CSOM continues its tradition of helping fill this gap with 48% of this year’s graduating class matching into their selected primary care residency programs.
Each year, students at medical schools throughout the U.S. discover on Match Day where they will be continuing the next phase of their training. However, today holds special significance for CSOM as it is the first Match Day since it opened its doors as a medical school in 2016. For the students, the day has a special additional meaning. This closely-knit group of students have been together throughout the entire 7 year BS/MD program since being accepted as high school graduates.
“I am proud of the success of our medical school’s first class,” said Vincent Boudreau, president, The City College of New York. “These students carry with them into their esteemed professions the skills and training that also affirm our College’s foundational commitment to society whereby all its members are entitled to a healthy future regardless of social or economic status.”
CSOM is the first public allopathic medical school to open its doors in New York state since 1971. It admits students directly from high school into an accelerated undergraduate biomedical program and seamlessly transitions them into CUNY’s rigorous pre-clinical and clinical curriculum. One of the hallmarks of CUNY’s medical school is its emphasis on the social determinants that impact a patient’s health and well-being, particularly for those who are underserved.
“Today is a rite of passage for our students who are now onto the next phase of their careers,” says Erica Friedman, MD, interim dean, CUNY School of Medicine. “We have prepared them for a rewarding future as community-oriented, mission-driven healers, concerned with the health and welfare of their patients and communities, and committed to social justice and health equity.”