The University of Nevada’s medical students continued their tradition of placing in some of the nation’s most competitive residency programs today when the Class of 2008 learned the results of the National Resident Matching Program.

Forty-eight students matched with 29 different residency institutions across the nation and will enter specialties ranging from dermatology and orthopaedics to otolaryngology and anesthesiology. Seventeen graduates will stay in the state to enter into residency programs offered through the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Nearly one-third 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 University of California, Davis Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, University of Southern California and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH.

“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 2008 is beyond our expectations. The quality of programs they will be attending is phenomenal.”

Residency training location is a strong indication of where physicians will likely set up their practice following completion of residency and has strong implications for the future availability of healthcare professionals in a given area.

In addition to today’s match results, two 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 neurosurgery and emergency medicine.

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.