Match Day Reveals Next Steps for 65 Peoria Medical Students
Match Day 2026
Today, 65 Peoria medical students opened an envelope and learned where they will spend the next few years of their training. Today’s “Match Day” event hosted by the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria (UICOMP) was held at the Mariott Pere Marquette in Peoria.
Among the Peoria students, 28 matched into programs in the state of Illinois, and seven will remain in Peoria for their training. Overall, students matched into 19 different specialties in 23 states. The most popular specialties for this year’s students were: Internal Medicine (16); Family Medicine (6); General Surgery and Surgical Specialties (5); and Obstetrics and Gynecology (5).
Match Day is an annual national event in which fourth-year medical students learn where they will spend the next three to seven years training in residency programs as they continue their journey into medicine. Competition is tight as 47,280 applicants interviewed for 43,237 positions in the 2025 match, according to data from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), the organization that administers the match.
The residency programs at UICOMP filled 105 openings with fourth-year medical students from throughout the nation as part of the same match process. In Peoria, UICOMP’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) office administers residency programs in affiliation with OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Carle Health Methodist and OSF Saint Joseph Medical Center. UICOMP offers 16 residency programs — Anesthesiology, two programs in Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Medicine-Pediatrics, Neurological Surgery, Neurology, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Pediatrics, Diagnostic Radiology, two programs in Interventional Radiology, and Transitional Year.
Match Day 2026 cont.
Lon Hutchinson of Chicago, Illinois, was thrilled to unveil his match in psychiatry to Yale – New Haven Hospital (Connecticut). A good student, Hutchinson was always encouraged by his family to pursue medicine, and his first-hand accounts of witnessing family members’ struggles and treatment with disease was further motivation.
Allison Wallenfang of Washington, Illinois, matched into obstetrics and gynecology with UICOMP/OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Her father, the late Paul Kinsinger, MD, was a beloved family medicine physician in Washington, and she credits him with sparking her interest in medicine. That initial interest was strengthened during her time as an EMT with the Washington Fire Department during college.
Lauren Schmidt of Kewanee matched into family medicine at Genesis Quad Cities (Iowa). Her love of science and interest in the human body led to her interest in medicine in high school. Shadowing her family physician helped her solidify her decision.
Emily Carroll of Hopedale matched into family medicine at UICOMP/Carle Health Methodist in Peoria. Her first job was as a cafeteria worker at Hopedale Medical Complex. Savings from that job helped her pay for college where she studied clinical laboratory science. Patient interactions and a desire to help them navigate through health and illness led her to a career in medicine.