The envelopes are open and the scene is set for a promising future: the latest group of Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine students have discovered where they will begin their careers in medicine.
The school’s annual Match Day was held at MetLife stadium – and the 136 students discovered their destination for the next phase of their promising careers, in New Jersey and beyond. It is part of the nationwide rite of passage involving thousands of medical students nationwide.
“Our School of Medicine has consistently been at the forefront of preparing exceptional physicians ready to face today’s health care challenges,” said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, chief executive officer of Hackensack Meridian Health. “It’s truly remarkable to see so many of these talented professionals beginning their residencies within our health network, positioning themselves as future leaders of positive change.”
The doctors-to-be are expected to complete their medical education at the school, with commencement planned for June 5.
“We look forward to this event each year and it’s such a proud moment for our students and faculty,” said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., president and dean of the School. “Our students have worked very hard to get to this point and we know they will be exceptional in the next chapter of their journeys.”
Year by year, the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine is helping to address the physician shortage. The United States will be short by about 68,000 primary care physicians by the year 2036, according to a federal estimate. The situation is already acute in New Jersey, which already has the lowest concentration of family physicians, at about 17 doctors per 100,000 residents of the Garden State.
The 136 students expected to graduate are split between 99 students from the 2021 cohort completing the four-year track, and 37 from the 2022 Cohort who are finishing their medical degree in three years, as part of the Phase 3-Residency (P3-R) option. Students in the P3-R group will enter residencies across the Hackensack Meridian Health network later this year. (Five students have already matched, four into Urology or Ophthalmology, and one in a military match since those specialties have a separate/earlier match.)
They are among tens of thousands across the United States who found out today where they will “Match” through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
This is the fifth Match Day for the School, which received its full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in February 2023. Students from the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine have previously matched at prestigious institutions across the country. Students have entered psychiatry, emergency medicine, general surgery, anesthesiology, neurology and obstetrics/gynecology, among a wide range of other fields.
According to the NRMP, the Program is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1952 at the request of medical students to provide an orderly and fair mechanism for matching the preferences of applicants for U.S. residency positions with the preferences of residency program directors. Each year “the Match” encompasses more than 50,000 registrants and 39,000 positions through its Main Residency Match, along with Fellowship Matches for more than 77 subspecialties through its Specialties Matching Service (SMS).
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. The network has 18 hospitals and more than 500 patient care locations, which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers, physician practice locations, and a fitness and wellness center. With more than 35,000 team members and 7,000 physicians, Hackensack Meridian Health is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy and committed to the health and well-being of communities throughout New Jersey.
The network’s notable distinctions include having the only #1 ranked adult and children’s hospitals in New Jersey, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, 2024-25. Hackensack University Medical Center is nationally-ranked by U.S. News & World Report in eight specialties. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its On3 campus in Nutley and Clifton. Hackensack Meridian Health assumed its independent operation in July 2020, and achieved full accreditation in February 2023. The school’s vision is that each person in New Jersey, and in the United States, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, will enjoy the highest levels of wellness in an economically and behaviorally sustainable fashion. The School’s unique curriculum focuses on linking the basic science with clinical relevance, through an integrated curriculum in a team-oriented, collaborative environment. The school prides itself on community outreach, through programs like the Human Dimension, which is active in communities across New Jersey.
