March 15, 2007                                              

SIU Med School Seniors and Residency Programs Get Match News

Senior medical students in the graduating Class of 2007 at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine were given results from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) on Thursday, March 15, at the same time other U.S. medical students learned their matches to postgraduate training programs.  Sixty-seven SIU seniors have secured residency positions.

Twelve SIU seniors (18%) selected family practice residencies and another 11 each (16.4%) selected pediatrics and emergency medicine.  Seven students (10.4%) matched in radiology and four (6%) matched in obstetrics/gynecology.

“As this medical school matures and adds specialty services to the primary care we provide to downstate Illinois, our students are also moving toward training in both specialty and primary care programs,” said Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost.  “I am particularly proud that even more SIU medical students are matching into some of the best U.S. programs.”
Other match results for SIU seniors were three each (4.5%) in anesthesiology, general surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology and orthopaedic surgery.  One student each will train in child neurology, medicine/pediatrics, medicine/psychiatry, neurology, pathology, surgery/preliminary and urology.

Twenty-eight seniors (42%) will train in the primary care specialties of family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics.  If the four student matches in obstetrics/gynecology are included, the total rises to 48 percentage.
SIU and its affiliated hospitals in Springfield, Decatur and Carbondale attracted 12 SIU graduates for residency training.  Another 8 medical students picked other Illinois programs and 27 selected Midwest programs, making a total of 47 students (70%) who will begin training in the Midwest.
SIU’s Class of 2007 will graduate Saturday, May 19.  New physicians begin their residency training in July 2007.

Match results also were announced Thursday for SIU’s residency programs in Springfield, based at the School’s two affiliated hospitals -- Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital.  Fifty-five starting positions in Springfield were filled.  The first-year residents will join 144 senior residents and fellows already in training at SIU programs in Springfield.

Twenty-eight first-year positions were filled in primary care programs -- general internal medicine (12), family practice (7), general pediatrics (6) and obstetrics/gynecology (3).  Eleven positions were filled in the five surgical programs -- general surgery (3), orthopaedic surgery (3), plastic surgery (2), otolaryngology (2) and urology (1) and preliminary surgery (1).  Fifteen total positions were filled in other specialties -- radiology (5), psychiatry (3), dermatology (2), medicine-psychiatry combined (2), neurology (2) and preliminary medicine (4).

"SIU medical school and our affiliated hospitals are celebrating another excellent match this year,” said Dr. Karen Broquet, associate dean for graduate medical education.  “SIU residents are integral members of the health care teams that provide quality care to patients from around central and southern Illinois, care for which SIU, Memorial and St. John’s are becoming well-known.”

SIU also has affiliated family practice residency programs in Carbondale, Decatur and Quincy, each three years in length.  Seventeen first-year positions have been filled for next year through the NRMP match and a similar program held last month for osteopath physicians.  These residents will join 38 senior family practice residents at SIU’s affiliated hospitals -- Memorial Hospital in Carbondale, Decatur Memorial and St. Mary’s Hospitals in Decatur, and Blessing Hospital in Quincy.

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