VCU Health System Prepares for New Class of Resident Physicians

By Erin Lucero
Office of Development, School of Medicine

At noon on March 17, fourth-year medical students around the country learned that they would complete their medical training in one of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System’s residency programs.

The students had participated in the National Resident Matching Program. The months-long process matches medical school seniors with residency training in their chosen specialties and culminates on Match Day.

For the third year in a row, the VCU Health System completely filled all its 70 residency programs.  

“We have students coming from strong medical schools across the country,” said Mary Alice O’Donnell, Ph.D., associate dean for graduate medical education in the VCU School of Medicine. 

“It is evident that our recruitment has moved from being primarily regional to a much larger national scale. This year’s success is a response to the reputation that our training programs have built for outstanding clinical variety and mentorship.”

In July, the 225 resident physicians will arrive at the VCU Health System to begin training that could last from three to 10 years depending on what field of medicine they have chosen to pursue.

The lead up to Match Day begins in December and January when students visit different hospitals all over the country to decide where they would like to perform their residencies. By the end of February, the students have ranked their top choices, and the hospitals have ranked their top candidates.

The data is sent to the National Resident Matching Program, which was established in 1952 to match medical students with residencies. A computer algorithm is used to establish the matches. The results are sent to each medical school, and on the third Thursday of March each student receives an envelope with the name of the institution where they will spend the next several years of their lives.