NOSM’s Class of 2012 Matches 100% to Residency Programs

On March 6, 2012, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) received notice that all undergraduate medical students in the 2012 graduating class successfully matched to Canadian residency programs on their first attempt. This is the third time that NOSM is the only Canadian medical school in more than ten years to have all students matched in the first round of matches of the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS).

“What an exciting time for our fourth-year MD students! Not only have the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s medical students obtained entry into their first-choice residency programs, but they have also showed how highly regarded NOSM medical students are across the country. I congratulate each student in the graduating class of 2012 on this notable success,” said Dr. Strasser, Dean of NOSM.

In the final year of medical school, each student must apply for residency training to become a fully-trained physician. Postgraduate residency programs are offered at all Canadian medical schools in various disciplines (for example, family medicine, anesthesia, dermatology, orthopedic surgery, etcetera) ranging in duration from two to five years, or more. Acceptance to a residency program involves students applying to medical school in a discipline of their choice. Students are then invited to participate in an interview with the school. After the interview process, both the student and the program they have applied to rank each other for preference through CaRMS. CaRMS then matches students, based on rankings, to postgraduate residency programs across Canada.

“Once again, NOSM’s medical students have proven that the training and preparation received through NOSM’s model of distributed, community-engaged medical education is developing physicians who are sought after by medical programs across the country. Across Northern Ontario, physicians, faculty and staff at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine should be proud of their contributions to this success,” said Dr. Lisa Graves, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Medical Education at NOSM.

Seventeen out of 54 MD students from NOSM’s undergraduate program have chosen to continue to train in residency programs offered in Northern Ontario. Specialties to which students matched include: family medicine, psychiatry, anesthesia, dermatology, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, radiation oncology, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology.