Fourth-year medical students from Campbell University’s Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine joined thousands of students nationwide on March 15 to learn where they will continue their medical training after graduation in May.

The school has for three years had 100 percent residency placement on Match Day. The class of 2019 continued this tradition of success.

All of the upcoming graduates placed into residency through the military, urology, National Matching Services or the National Residency Match Program. More than 65 percent of Campbell’s 2019 Match participants will practice in primary care medicine, and 56 percent will practice in the Southeast.

“We could not be more pleased with the residency match results for the Class of 2019,” said John M. Kauffman Jr., founding dean of the School of Osteopathic Medicine. “We are proud to have 56 percent of the class continuing their training the southeast — 37 of them here in North Carolina.”

After the students found out their results, they shared their good news with family, friends and classmates by filling out “I Matched” commemorative signs, taking photos with Campbell University’s mascot dressed as “Dr. Gaylord,” and sharing photos on social media tagged with #MatchDay2019.

“The class was almost evenly split between university and community hospital programs,” Kauffman said. “We will have graduates continuing their training at Campbell, Duke, Baylor and East Carolina residency programs, as well as Cone Health, Novant Health, New Hanover Regional Medical Center and Carolinas Health System — to only name a few.”

Kauffman said more than 65 percent of the match participants will train in primary medicine, while others will pursue highly competitive specialties, ranging from anesthesiology to neurosurgery.

“We’ve worked really hard to get (to this day)”, said Lauren Brown, a native of Sanford who will continue her medical training in pediatrics at Duke University. “I’m so excited to be able to stay in North Carolina where I was born and raised and to take care of the children of North Carolina.”

Robin King-Thiele, associate dean for graduate medical education, called this year’s Match Day “a great day for the Class of 2019 and for all Campbell residency programs.” She said all 96 positions for new residents were filled at Southeastern Health in Lumberton, Cape Fear Valley Health in Fayetteville, Sampson Regional Medical Center in Clinton, and Harnett Health locations in Lillington and Dunn.

“Today’s results are essential to Campbell Medicine fulfilling the mission of meeting rural North Carolina’s health care needs,” King-Thiele said, “because statistics tell us at least half of the 96 will remain within 100 miles of these residency programs to practice medicine.”

Ryan Arias of Long Beach, New York, said he will move on to Harnett Health for a residency in family medicine after graduation. He said he knew family medicine was for him after his third-year rotation with Dr. Brad Butler, a family physician in Angier.

“I enjoyed the small-town environment,” Arias said. “Dr. Butler and the (physician assistants) knew all of the patients beyond their lab numbers and patient profiles. They knew them as a person. I love the depth and breadth of family medicine. There are no limits on what I will see with my patients.”

Arias said Campbell was at the top of his residency rankings because of Ryan Hudson, the family medicine residency program director for the medical school.

“Dr. Hudson is a phenomenal program director, fantastic teacher and great person,” Arias said.  “Since January, my wife, new baby and I have been waiting for this moment, and today when I opened the envelope and saw ‘Campbell University’ (for my residency), I knew this is where I need to be and where I belong.”

Residency placement information for all of Campbell Medicine’s graduates can be found at medicine.campbell.edu/about/facts-figures