For the third time in as many years, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine experienced a 100 percent match rate of its soon-to-graduate Class of 2016. Amid festivities in a packed auditorium, students, family members, and friends celebrated Match Day 2016.

Match Day is part of the National Resident Matching Program, which pairs graduating or graduated medical students with residency programs across the country. It is a ceremony that has been played out on medical school campuses for decades. At the same moment the event was happening at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, the drama unfolded at more than a hundred other medical schools across the country.

Students of the Class of 2016 at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine join in a group hug after learning they matched.
Students of the Class of 2016 at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine join in a group hug after learning they matched.

This year 35,500 graduating medical students competed for 27,800 available residency programs nationwide.

“Our third straight year of having a 100 percent match rate speaks volumes about the caliber of our students,” said Aubrey Knight, associate dean for student affairs. “These students are well trained and more than ready to start the next phase of their journey.”

Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine students were invited to interview for residencies at institutions in 40 states and the District of Columbia. They will be pursuing 21 specialties in 34 different programs dispersed across 19 states. And the rundown of programs they were accepted in to is impressive: Georgetown, Duke, Baylor, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, just to name a few.

One student will stay in Roanoke for her residency in emergency medicine with Carilion Clinic. Another three students will do a preliminary year at Carilion, as part of the requirement for certain specialties.

The Class of 2016 will graduate on May 7.

Written by Catherine Doss