Friday, March 21, 2025
Byline: LUCOM Marketing
Alongside all medical schools nationally, Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) celebrated its fourth-year student-doctor class inside the Montview Ballroom on the campus of Liberty University on Friday, March 21, during the annual Match Day that saw LUCOM achieve a 98.7 percent placement in 2025.
It was the fifth time in the last six years that LUCOM achieved a greater than 98 percent placement rate at the conclusion of Match Week.
The day is a culmination of medical schools guiding their senior students through the four-year curriculum. The event is a significant milestone for medical students as they receive their future assignment for residency placement, often referred to as the phase of Graduate Medical Education (GME), the specialty training that follows medical school graduation.
According to the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®), a total of 52,498 applicants registered for the Match, an increase of 2,085 (4.1 percent) over last year, and 47,208 of those applicants submitted a certified a rank order list (“active applicant”). This year’s active applicant pool competed for 43,237 positions, an increase of 1,734 (4.2 percent) from 2024.
In addition, there were 8,392 active Osteopathic (DO) seniors in the 2025 Main Residency Match, an increase of 4.5 percent over last year. DO seniors achieved a 92.6 percent PGY-1 match rate, an all-time high, and an increase of 0.3 percentage points. DO senior PGY-1 match rates have grown 3.5 percentage points since 2021.
The NRMP was established in 1952 at the request of medical students. The private, nonprofit organization uses a computer-based algorithm to match the preferences of fourth-year medical students with the preferences of residency program directors. The NRMP also conducts Fellowship Matches for more than 75 subspecialties through its Specialties Matching Service.
The Match process begins every summer as students enter their fourth year of medical school and apply and interview to numerous residency programs throughout the country offering specialty training in medical and surgical specialties. Medical students and program directors rank programs and applicants, respectively, in order of preference and submit the preference lists to the NRMP.
LUCOM had 151 student-doctors that matched into 15 different specialties. 65.6 percent of students matched into a primary care specialty which includes Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry and Internal Medicine/Pediatrics. Other specialties student-doctors matched into were Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Neurological Surgery, General Surgery, Pathology, Orthopedic Surgery, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (ONMM). These soon to be physicians will be serving communities across 32 different states and Canada. This includes the top five states of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and Ohio.
A couple of notes that make this class unique is one student-doctor became the first LUCOM physician to match internationally at a Canadian residency program. Along with that first, another student-doctor in this class is the first to match in LUCOM’s ONMM residency program to begin their training.
After the clock struck noon, LUCOM Dean Joseph R. Johnson, DO, FACOOG (Dist) addressed the students on behalf of Liberty University and its leadership. Following that, LUCOM Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Randy Litman, DO, MBA, FACOFP, HPF, FAAO, FACOI congratulated the Class of 2025 and shared how much of a blessing it is for students to secure a residency program through the match placement process.
Following the opening of the envelopes, each student that wanted to participate, went on stage, and announced where they matched. The student-doctors celebrating virtually also shared where they matched through a Teams meeting shown during the celebration ceremony.
McClain Vail, who matched at ChristianaCare in Delaware, said it was a stressful time but he’s very thankful.
“It’s just a culmination of four years of dedication and hard work,” McClain said. “I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was a kid, so it’s full circle that we’re finally here and we finally know where we’re going. It’s easy in the first two years to just think you’re just creeping along, but what you learn in those years really pays off when you’re treating patients. It’s the ‘why’ behind what you’re doing. Just lean on the people that care about you the most and you’ll go far.”
Kyle Neuman, who became LUCOM’s first student-doctor to match in LUCOM’s ONMM Residency, was thrilled to be the first student to do so, but doesn’t want to be the last.
“It is special,” Kyle said. “My hope is that I’ll be the first of many more to come. This specialty isn’t very well known and as it grows, more and more people will become aware of it. I’m excited. This is a great opportunity for me, but it’s also great to see the ONMM specialty grow.”
He also said that this day is the culmination of years of work after being in the military and coming to visit LUCOM nine years ago from California. He didn’t even realize the ONMM specialty existed at the time and is thrilled to be staying local.
Johnson addressed those that matched through the Miliary Match in late 2024. “These student-doctors had an earlier timeline than those participating in the NRMP and learned their results in mid-December,” Johnson said. “We would like to take this moment to congratulate the 18 LUCOM student-doctors that matched in the Military Match.”
Sabrina Fagan, who Military Matched, is going to Fort Benning, Ga., for Family Medicine.
“Military Match is great that it’s earlier and it’s a great peace of mind for the second half of your fourth-year,” Sabrina said. “Matching in the Army is one of the most impressive things I’ve done outside of going to medical school. I’m so excited to get to Fort Benning.”
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