It’s a Match! NYITCOM Class of ’18 Learns Their Residency Matches

Pictured from left: NYITCOM students Jedidah Nuamah, Lenora Codrington, and Nkeiruka Nwapa.

Hugs, tears of joy, and “happy dances” abounded at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, N.Y., on March 16 as fourth-year NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) students opened the envelopes revealing where they will spend the next several years completing their medical residency training. This annual event, known as Match Day, has all the excitement of an NFL draft as students get a glimpse into their careers and the medical centers they will call home.

“As medical educators, this is the joyful moment we look forward to each year,” said Wolfgang Gilliar, D.O., who congratulated the Class of 2018 before envelopes were opened, and commended the students’ commitment to volunteerism and participation with campus activities. “For four years we’ve seen these medical students transform and envision their future as physicians, and today we see them open the envelopes not only to their residency matches, but also to their dreams.”

NYITCOM students Tova Plaut (left) and Jordana Schneider pose with Dean Wolfgang Gilliar.

At noon, Gilliar, joined by NYITCOM faculty members Leslie Goldstein, Pharm.D., Donna Marie-MacMahon, D.O., and Sheldon Yao, D.O., called students to the front of the ballroom one-by-one to receive their envelopes. Matches are determined by a computerized algorithm and kept top-secret from both the future doctors and the matching hospitals until they are opened.

As students made their way to the front of the room, many of their fellow classmates provided a pat on the back and a supportive, “You got this!” Twenty-four long minutes later, after a champagne toast and brief moment of reflection for those that helped them on their journey, the students ripped open their envelopes.

NYITCOM student Alex Nello gets a congratulatory hug at Match Day.

Matthew Goldstein, president, NYITCOM Student Osteopathic Surgical Association, was happily surprised by his match results. “I’m still in shock,” said Goldstein. “I matched with my first choice, Florida Hospital for Children, where I completed some of my clinical rotations. I can’t wait to head down there and start my pediatrics residency as soon as I can.”

“As of today, more than 99 percent of our students have matched. In the past three years, NYITCOM has had a 100 percent match rate, and we are optimistic that this year’s outcome will also be successful,” said Gilliar.

Among the many students celebrating their residencies were Charles Fennie, a father of four who left a successful career in finance to pursue a career in medicine and Alex Nello, one of the three students instrumental in the development of the Healing Path.