Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Students Land Residencies in Primary Care and at Prestigious Hospitals Nationwide
Graduates Match to Prestigious Residencies Across the Country including Johns Hopkins Medical Center, the University of Florida, the University of Colorado, and the University of California-Davis
New York, N.Y. – About half of the medical students graduating this spring from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) in Harlem have been matched to primary care residencies and a similar number will remain in New York and New Jersey, according to results from the school’s third consecutive “Match Days.” Additionally, graduates matched to many of the most prestigious residency programs in the country.
The match lists are in many ways a report card on the performance of our medical school, letting us know how effective we are in our work to meet our mission,” said Robert Goldberg, DO, dean of TouroCOM. “The graduates show that the faculty, staff and administration are focusing our strengths and energies in an effective way. The patients of New York and beyond will reap these benefits in the years to come.”
Sending graduates into primary care residencies is a cornerstone of the school’s mission, which also includes increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in medicine and serving underserved populations. Primary care encompasses family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology.
“For the third year in a row, our new graduates have had very successful residency matches,” said Kenneth J. Steier, DO, MPH, MHA and clinical dean at TouroCOM. “We are pleased that virtually half of our graduates are entering primary care, where physicians are desperately needed.”
Dr. Steier said of the 114 out of 117 students in the class that have been matched thus far, 35 students will remain in New York and 22 in New Jersey. Fifty students are specializing in one of the categories of primary care. Included among the area’s hospitals receiving TouroCOM graduates are Staten Island University Hospital, Palisades Medical Center, and Trinitas Hospital, as well as New York Medical College-Westchester Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, and Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center. In other parts of the country, the graduates will be residents at such prestigious programs as Johns Hopkins Medical Center, the University of Florida, the University of Colorado, and the University of California-Davis.
Elizabeth Prince, a native of Maryland who received her Bachelor of Music in tuba performance at the University of Maryland before attending TouroCOM, said she was excited about her match to Johns Hopkins for a residency in psychiatry. “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see many different programs during the interview season and Johns Hopkins really felt like home. I got the sense I would fit in well and get a great education there,” said the Staten Island resident. Prince said she is most interested in pursuing consultation-liaison psychiatry, a branch of psychiatry that specializes in the interface between medicine and psychiatry, usually taking place in a hospital or medical setting.
Cara Miller is similarly pleased with her match to New York Medical College-Westchester Medical Center, where she will be working in pediatrics at its Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, a leader in pediatric care. Miller, who is from Beacon, N.Y. and attended Sienna College, said she plans to pursue a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology. “I am very excited. It was one of my top choices,” Miller said.
All of the TouroCOM students will become osteopathic physicians; however they were eligible to apply for both allopathic (M.D.) and osteopathic (DO) residencies. The allopathic residency ‘matches’ are made by the National Resident Matching Program and the osteopathic matches by the National Matching Services (NMS). Both organizations use computerized mathematical algorithms to align the preferences of applicants with those of residency program directors. NRMP residencies are open to students at both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. The NMS residencies are open only to DO students.
Dr. Steier said selections are based predominantly on student performance while on rotations at hospitals, as well as their national board scores.
TouroCOM is dedicated to mentoring students as soon as they begin their medical education. The deans and faculty work closely with the students to ensure that they receive a rigorous, hands-on medical education, as well as offer many programs that allow students to interact directly with the community. This exposure ultimately guides students through the process of successfully landing residencies at top institutions.
