For the fourth consecutive year, graduating students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) achieved a 100% residency placement rate, with all 181 members of the Class of 2026 receiving placements as resident physicians following their completion of medical school.
James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, commended students for successfully overcoming the challenges of a rigorous medical education.
“Achieving a 100% residency placement rate is a testament to the dedication and resilience of the members of the Class of 2026. Our students have met the demands of medical school with professionalism and determination, and their success reflects the hard work they have invested during the past four years. I am confident they will make valuable contributions to the communities they serve as physicians,” Nemitz said.
A total of 82 students in the class entered primary care residency programs, encompassing the fields of family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.
Other popular specialties included emergency medicine, with 27 students; psychiatry, with 17 students; and general surgery and OB-GYN, with nine students each.
A total of 34 students matched to residencies in West Virginia, including placements at hospitals in Bridgeport, Charleston, Huntington, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Ronceverte and Wheeling.
Abigail Frank, D.O., WVSOM’s associate dean of graduate medical education, praised students for their commitment to careers in osteopathic medicine.
“We celebrate your years of dedication, late nights and perseverance in becoming a physician,” Frank said. “WVSOM is honored to have been part of your path. We are incredibly proud of you.”
