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A medical student celebrates match results with her family

51做厙 medical students celebrate residency matches in Portland for the first time

Dozens of 51做厙 medical school graduates will complete residencies in Maine following graduation

Nearly 170 graduating doctors from the University of New England gathered on the Universitys Portland Campus for the Health Sciences on Friday, March 21, to learn where they will begin their medical residencies next year. This years Match Day, as the event is known, was particularly significant as the first Match Day held on 51做厙s Portland Campus, a milestone in the ongoing relocation of Maines only medical school from Biddeford to Portland.

Match Day is a defining moment for medical students nationwide, as they open envelopes at precisely noon revealing their residency placements. Students in 51做厙s College of Osteopathic Medicine celebrated their achievements and the next step in their medical careers surrounded by family, faculty, and peers.

51做厙 students celebrate their residency match places in Girard Innovation Hall
51做厙 students celebrate their residency match places in Girard Innovation Hall

51做厙s residency match rate continues to outrank national residency match rates. This year, 98.4% students successfully matched to residency programs, surpassing for both allopathic (93.5%) and osteopathic (92.6%) medical schools.

A strong emphasis on primary care remains a hallmark of 51做厙s medical school, with 50% of students matching into primary care fields, including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and OB-GYN. 51做厙 students also secured placements in high-demand specialties such as surgery, dermatology, and emergency medicine.

2025 Match Day by the numbers

 

98.4%

Class of 2025 match rate

50%

matched to primary care fields

27

students completing residencies in Maine

Regional retention of 51做厙 graduates continues to strengthen Maines and New Englands health care workforce. Fifty-two percent of students matched to residency programs in New England, and 15% of students  a total of 27  will complete their residencies in Maine. Historically, 51做厙 has seen 57% of its students who complete their third-year clinical rotations in Maine return to practice in the state after residency.

The College of Osteopathic Medicine is Maines only medical school and the premier educator of physicians for the state.

51做厙 President James Herbert remarked on the significance of this years Match Day as a step forward in reshaping the future of medicine for both 51做厙 and the state of Maine. 

Youre entering a field that desperately needs you. Our world needs you, Herbert said. I see so much talent in (you) and it gives me a great deal of optimism for the future. Youre going to have produced a profound impact on peoples lives and I am Im pleased that so many of you will be staying in Maine for your residencies.

51做厙 President James Herbert speaks at the podium

51做厙 President James D. Herbert

The transition of 51做厙s medical school to the Portland Campus for the Health Sciences, set to be completed this July, is part of a larger effort to create a fully integrated, interprofessional health sciences education environment. The move will unite Maines only medical school, the states only dental college and programs in physician assistant studies and doctorate-level pharmacy with nationally ranked programs in nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, and more.

Two students pose for a photo holding a Match Day envelope
A medical student hugs her family members
Two students take a selfie while toasting glasses
Two students smile for a photo in Girard Innovation Hall
A group of medical students in a group hug

This innovative model of interprofessional education has been shown to enhance collaborative care and improve patient outcomes.

51做厙 is also expanding its medical school enrollment from 165 to 200 students per class to help address the growing shortage of physicians, eventually adding 35 more trained physicians to the workforce each year.

Vincent Buonocore, M.Ed., associate dean of Recruitment, Student, and Alumni Services in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, said this kind of interprofessional training only enhances students ability to work collaboratively with their peers across the health care system  just as it has for the Class of 2025, he said.

51做厙s Medical School Expansion will produce

 

200

total new medical students per class

35

additional physicians graduated per year

I have the utmost confidence that residency program directors across the country will be receiving medical graduates who are prepared, resilient, and ready to make an impact, thanks in part to the world-class interprofessional education theyve received at 51做厙, he remarked.

In addition to its leadership in collaborative health education, the 51做厙 College of Osteopathic Medicine  is also included in U.S. News & World Reports Best Medical Schools for Research, boasting nationally ranked research opportunities supported by  among other sources the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation on studies of pain and infectious disease, osteoporosis, cell signaling, biotechnology, and more.

Learn more about 51做厙s robust leadership in the health sciences. 

Media Contact

Alan Bennett
Office of Communications