Primary care training was again the top choice for senior medical students graduating from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

SIU seniors received the results from the National Resident Matching Program last Thursday and learned where they will be doing their training after medical school. Dr. Erik Constance, associate dean of student affairs at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield says 69 SIU medical students were matched with residency programs in Illinois, the Midwest, and around the country. Constance explains:

SOUND BITE: ". . . this is where the student is going to continue their education, and in some in some cases, it is their first job, because they're actually you know are physicians after graduation, but they need further training and that is what residency programs are for. They'll do at least 3 years of training before they can actually go out on their own."

The largest percentage of students, 42 percent, will enter primary care residencies in July. Other chosen specialties include internal medicine, family practice and pediatrics. Constance explains:

SOUND BITE: "Oh certainly, not only do we have a lot of graduates going into primary care, but the majority of our students are going to be training here in Illinois and if not in Illinois, then in the Midwest. And I think you know this medical school exists to train physicians in southern and central Illinois. If they stick around and do their residency training in Illinois, there's a high likelihood that they will end up practicing here."

42 percent of SIU medical school seniors will enter residency programs in Illinois and an additional 31 percent of them will continue their training in the Midwest.