VCU news

By Polly Roberts

She could have been an astronaut. Instead, Rebecka Hoffman, a member of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine’s Class of 2018, will head to Yale University to begin her emergency medicine residency this year.

Classmate Justin Mauser might have been a park ranger. Yet in July he’ll begin training in family medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

Brittany Cornfield could have been a tap dancer. Now she will complete her pediatrics residency at Oregon Health and Science University.

Members of the Class of 2018 could have been many things, but on Match Day March 16, they each moved one step closer to achieving another goal: becoming doctors. This year’s theme, “What would you be if you weren’t an M.D.?” showed off the creativity of the class as they marked the annual rite of passage when fourth-year medical students around the country learn their residency training destinations.

“It’s a huge relief,” said Hoffman, adding that Yale was her top choice. “It’s been a long road and I’m excited for the next adventure. I’m going to miss my VCU family – they’ve been so supportive – but I’m excited for more responsibility.”

So is Laura Pedersen, who will stay at VCU Health to train in internal medicine. “I’m ready to start really helping people,” said a tearful Pedersen, dressed in a mermaid costume. “These are happy tears. I’m very happy to be staying at VCU.”

Thirty-four students (17 percent) will remain at VCU Health (including VCU-affiliated family medicine residency programs) for the duration of their residency training, with nine students completing preliminary training here in either internal medicine or general surgery – an increase of more than 5 percent from last year.

The medical community prepares to welcome a class that could have followed many paths – careers as a chef, climbing guide, owner of a dog treat bakery, Starbucks barista, a would-be Jane Goodall, couch potatoes, Instafamous beauty bloggers and fitness experts on Instagram, artists, professional athletes or, even as one student delicately put it, debt-free.

However, no matter what else called to them or stood in their way, they chose to pursue medicine on the MCV Campus.

But wait – who says they’re done yet?

“I still want to be an astronaut,” Hoffman said with a sly smile.

 2018 match results

For the 2018 Main Residency Match, 94.6 percent of the VCU School of Medicine’s graduating students matched into a PGY-1 (postgraduate year one) position prior to the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), slightly higher than the national average of 94.3 percent. At the conclusion of SOAP, more than 98.5 percent of VCU’s seniors have obtained a position in a residency training program.

• 91 students (44 percent) matched into primary care specialties: 36 in internal medicine; 34 in family medicine; 14 in pediatrics; and seven in combined internal medicine/pediatrics.  
• 21 students matched into emergency medicine;
• 13 students matched into OB-GYN;
• 10 students matched into general surgery;
• seven matched into orthopedic surgery;
• six each matched into anesthesiology and diagnostic radiology;
• four each matched into dermatology and psychiatry;
• three each matched into neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation;
• two each matched into integrated plastic surgery, interventional radiology, neurology, otolaryngology and radiation oncology;
• one each matched into child neurology, combined internal medicine/preventative medicine, and pathology.

When including early match results with six students matching into ophthalmology, three into urology, and five into military programs, this year’s class performed well in the increasingly competitive residency match process.

“The success of our students is a reflection of the outstanding integrated, clinically focused training our students receive under the C3 Curriculum [centered on the needs of the learner, clinically driven, competency based],” said Christopher Woleben, M.D., the medical school’s associate dean for student affairs. “It has been a privilege getting to see our students determine their professional identity within medicine, and we look forward to keeping in touch with our graduating students as they become proud alumni of VCU School of Medicine. Often, their talents and skills pave the way for future students to match into strong residency programs across the country and here in Virginia.”