Nevada's medical students continued their tradition of placing in some of the nation's most competitive residency programs March 15 when the Class of 2007 learned the results of the National Resident Matching Program.

The 52 students matched with 36 different residency institutions across the nation and will enter specialties ranging from Family Practice and Internal Medicine to Ophthalmology and Neurosurgery.  Nine graduates will stay in the state to enter into residency programs offered through the University of Nevada School of Medicine. More than one-fourth of this year's graduating class matched with residency programs not currently offered within the state.  Students matching with some of the most competitive residency training programs include placements with the Mayo Clinic, Brigham & Women's Hospital in Massachusetts, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Duke University Medical Center, and the University of Virginia.

"We are very proud of our students' placements," said Cheryl Hug-English, M.D., associate dean of admissions and student affairs.  "The University of Nevada School of Medicine has a tradition of placing in competitive programs, but the performance of the Class of 2007 is beyond our expectations.  Not only did our entire class find a match, but the quality of programs they will be attending is phenomenal."

In addition to today's match results, five students received their match notification last month.  These students participated in the San Francisco Match and Military Match which were developed to accommodate the most competitive of residency programs.  Students placing in the early matches will enter specialties including neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and general surgery.

The National Resident Matching Program is a private, not-for-profit corporation that provides an impartial venue for matching applicants' and programs' preferences for each other by reviewing their individualized rank order lists.  Each year, approximately 16,000 U.S. medical school students participate in the residency match.  Due to the uniform date for decisions about residency selection for both applicants and programs, the National Resident Matching Program eliminates the pressure that might otherwise fall upon applicants and programs to make decisions before all of their options are known.

As the state's only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969.  The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering.  As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada.  The school's statewide faculty physician practice group has a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.

The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit www.unr.edu/med.