Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine MD Class of 2018 celebrates successful Match Day

Today Friday, March 16, 97 students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth) in the largest graduating class in the school’s history, learned their residency placements during the National Resident Matching Program’s “Match Day,” an event at which all fourth-year MD students around the country simultaneously open their envelopes to learn where they will spend the next three to seven years training in specialties. Residencies typically begin July 1.

“We are proud of the success of our Class of 2018,” said Steven J. Scheinman, MD, president and dean of Geisinger Commonwealth and executive vice president, Geisinger. “Again this year, our students matched into excellent local residency programs, as well as some of the most competitive and prestigious programs and specialties in the nation. I am also glad that, once again, our students chose primary care in large numbers,” Dr. Scheinman said, pointing out that half of Geisinger Commonwealth’s Class of 2018 matched into a primary care specialty – family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics or obstetrics/gynecology.

Dr. Scheinman noted that 35 members of the Class of 2018 matched into a Pennsylvania-based program, including 13 local students. Moreover, four Geisinger Commonwealth students will train at a Geisinger residency program. “Matching into a Pennsylvania-based residency is an encouraging indicator, because physicians tend to end up practicing in areas close to where they trained,” Dr. Scheinman said, adding that Pennsylvania-based residencies comprised more than one-third of Geisinger Commonwealth’s total match. The fact that seven students matched into residencies in northeastern Pennsylvania is an even more promising indicator.”

Dr. Scheinman also observed that Geisinger Commonwealth applicants matched into some of the most competitive specialties in American medicine, including dermatology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, urology, ophthalmology and orthopedic surgery. In addition to the large number of Geisinger Commonwealth students who will train at leading community-based programs, several students will go to residencies at highly competitive teaching hospitals, including those associated with Dartmouth, New York University, the University of Rochester, UCLA and the University of Chicago, as well programs at Jefferson, Temple and Drexel.

According to the National Resident Matching Program, the 2018 Match was the largest in history, with 37,103 total registrants competing for 33,167 positions. Among them were 18,818 fourth-year MD students who submitted their program preference lists, including the 97 from Geisinger Commonwealth. 

View the Match list for Geisinger Commonwealth's MD Class of 2018.

Geisinger Commonwealth Match Day by the numbers

2018 specialty/no. matched
Anesthesiology: 4     
Dermatology: 1
Diagnostic radiology: 4
Emergency medicine: 10
Family medicine: 9
General surgery: 2
Internal medicine: 22
Medicine pediatrics: 2
Medicine primary: 1
Neurology: 4
Obstetrics: 5
Orthopedic surgery: 4
Ophthalmology: 3
Pathology:  2
Pediatrics: 10
Physical & mental rehabilitation: 2
Plastic surgery: 1
Preliminary surgery: 1
Psychiatry: 4
Radiation oncology: 1
Radiology: 1
Transitional year: 1
Urology: 3
Total: 97
 
34 local students  
Bradford: 4
Carbon: 1
Lackawanna: 8
Luzerne: 14
Monroe: 1
Montour: 1
Pike: 1
Schuylkill: 1
Susquehanna: 1
Wayne: 2
Total: 34

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country.  Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.