Old Westbury, NY – Cheers, fist pumps, and hugs filled a ballroom at NYIT de Seversky Mansion at Match Day as more than 100 excited NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine students learned where they will spend the next three or four years as residents or interns in local and regional hospitals.

Ninety-nine percent of the 270 students in the Class of 2014 matched or were placed into graduate medical education positions—a number made even more impressive because of the class size is double and, in some cases, triple the size of many medical schools across the country, said Dean Wolfgang Gilliar, DO. Most will begin their residencies and internships on July 1.

About 136 students from the Class of 2014 chose the primary care specialties of either family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatric medicine. More than half of the students will remain in New York State. Students matched or received placements in many hospitals in NYIT's affiliated network known as NYCOMEC, including Lutheran Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx and Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ. Others will begin their graduate medical education outside the network at other sites, including Yale-New Haven Hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California, and NYU Langone Medical Center.

"Having such a fantastic outcome shows that we are delivering to the public what is needed to educate future physicians who have competence, confidence, and compassion," said Gilliar, who presided over the festivities.

Gilliar called each student to the front of the room to receive a personalized silver envelope holding their Match Day results from the National Residency Match Program, which places students in MD, (known as allopathic), residencies and internships. Students who participated in the American Osteopathic Match for osteopathic positions received their information last month, as did those for military residencies and certain specialties, including ophthalmology. Although some knew those results, they still chose to attend the party and celebrate with friends.

Students took their envelopes back to their tables, pulled out cellphones, clutched friends' hands, and waited for a signal to open them. When the final envelope was distributed, Gilliar asked them to stand up and close their eyes.

"Think about all the roads you took to get here," he said, "all the wonders you've done and all the people who have helped get you here. Good health!"

As the students ripped open their envelopes, most cheered and screamed as they read the one-page notice indicating their placements.

"I'm really so, so thankful," said Christina Trotta, who matched to an internal medicine residency at Drexel University Medical Center. "It was one of my top choices."

Trotta, who said her life has been touched by loved ones affected by cancer, hopes to use her internal medicine experience to pursue a specialty in either hematology or oncology.

"It's amazing," said a breathless Patrick Hyppolite, who engulfed Gilliar in a bear hug as he took his envelope.

Hyppolite, who matched to Hackensack University Medical Center, said he had no idea how much he enjoyed emergency medicine until he experienced it on his clerkships during his third and fourth year of medical school.

"That's when I found out I loved it," he said. "I like the problem-solving aspect and the fast pace of it."

Conor Parks and Jodi Zimbler smiled broadly, happy and relieved about their family medicine osteopathic residencies at Plainview-LIJ Hospital. The two will marry on June 21, just weeks before their residencies begin.

Story updated: March 31, 2014

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 13,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

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