Fifty medical students from the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria joined thousands across the country on Friday, March 15, as they learned which residency they “matched” into and where they would spend the next three to seven years of residency training. These 50 fourth-year students are approaching their graduation in May. The next step is completing a residency in their choice of specialty.

UICOMP students matched to 11 different specialties in 20 states. Of those, 28 are headed into primary care, and 12 students will remain in Illinois with six matching to residency programs in Peoria.

The top three specialties medical students chose to pursue this year were Internal Medicine (19), surgical fields (10), and Emergency Medicine (7). Students learned of their matching program at 11 a.m. Friday, March 15, at the Gateway Building in downtown Peoria.

In Peoria, 74 residency positions were filled. UICOMP educates 244 medical students and has nearly 300 resident and fellowship physicians in 21 graduate medical training programs.