News
Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science Graduates “MATCHED” with Nation's Top Teaching Hospitals
Students in Class of 2008 Placed at the Nation’s Most Prestigious Hospitals
Cesar Barba receives his envelope containing the results of his match from Charles Drew University Dean, Dr. Richard A. Baker.
Los Angeles, California – May we have the envelopes please? Students of
Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) today joined
thousands of senior medical students from across the nation at
precisely 9:00 a.m. as they opened their envelopes to learn where they
will be placed to do their residency after graduation.
This annual event, known as Match Day, is the culmination of a process that
begins in the fall when senior medical students begin applying to
residency programs through a national computer system. Following
application, students are then invited to interview at the discretion
of each program. Students electronically rank the programs in their
order of preference while residency program directors across the
country do the same.
The results for the Charles Drew University students were revealed at their
annual campus breakfast attended by students, family members, faculty
and Dr. Susan Kelly, Charles Drew University’s President and CEO.
“This university is a particularly proud institution today. What greater
source of pride than to see our graduates go to America’s top training
hospitals on the way to becoming the best physicians committed to
serving the communities which most need them? It’s a validation of both
the University’s excellent educational program and of the quality and
dedication of our students,” said Dr. Kelly.
This year students at the minority-based medical school were successfully
placed in their choice of medical residency programs in some of the
nation’s most prestigious hospitals. Eighty-eight percent of the
students will remain in California to do their residency. Retaining
these graduating physicians in California is an important contribution
to solving the State’s looming physician workforce shortage.
Among the prestigious hospital training programs where Charles Drew
University students matched in California were Harbor-UCLA Medical
Center; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; UCLA Medical Center/Santa Monica;
Children’s Hospital; White Memorial Medical Center; Children’s
Hospital; Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital; UC Irvine Medical
Center; University of Southern California; Alameda County Medical
Center; and Kaiser Permanente. Medical institution in other parts of
the country included Physicians Medical Center Carraway inAlabama;
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Wisconsin, and
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Dr. Richard S. Baker, Dean of Charles Drew University’s College of
Medicine, presided over the special ceremony this morning on campus,
where students opened their envelopes to learn their status. “Of
course, every one of our students is to be congratulated for achieving
such a major professional goal this early in their career. But what
makes this accomplishment even more rewarding to those of us involved,
is seeing their extraordinary and undiminished dedication to the
University’s mission — helping the underserved and eliminating health
care disparities,” he stated.
Sixty-eight percent of Charles Drew University’s graduates matched in primary care
specialties (Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics &
Gynecology and Pediatrics), with the balance matching in subspecialties
such as Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, Psychiatry,
Surgery-Preliminary, Transitional, Urology and Vascular Surgery.
The CDU/UCLA medical education program is a unique partnership between the
Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science and the David Geffen
School of Medicine at UCLA, with a special mission of serving the
chronically underserved. Each CDU graduate distinguished him/herself
from the great majority of medical students in the nation by completing
a formal medical research thesis. For the third year in a row,
one-sixth of the Charles Drew/UCLA medical student class was elected to
Alpha Omega Alpha the national medical honor society.
As a part of its mission, Charles Drew University’s graduates continue to
provide urgently needed healthcare services to millions of medically
underserved residents of the poorest communities in Los Angeles County.
Named in honor of the brilliant African-American physician whose
pioneering work in blood preservation has saved a billion lives in 60
years. Charles Drew University was born in a fire, the Watts Rebellion
of 1965. A high price of death, injury and destruction was paid, but in
its aftermath a strong, vibrant and resilient institution was created
committed to the ideal that health is a human right. Through excellence
in education, clinical practice outreach and research that makes a real
difference, the University continues four decades later to proudly
serve people in the greatest need, in the largest underserved urban
area in the nation — and others like it everywhere.
Charles Drew University medical students proudly show off their envelopes
A
proud day for all involved. Dr. Susan Kelly is surrounded by (L-R): Dr.
Kenneth Wolf, Associate Dean; Dr. Richard Baker, Dean College of
Medicine; Associate Dean for Medical Student Affairs, Dr. Daphne
Calmes; Student Body President Oriaku Kas-Osoka and Dean of Academic
Affairs, Dr. Ronald Edelstein
