The University of Queensland’s Ochsner medical program has reached a major milestone with its first graduates all placed in United States clinical residency positions.
Medical graduates across the United States, including the nine UQ-Ochsner graduates, have been advised of their residency places.
Seven of the nine UQ-Ochsner graduates have been placed in one of their top three preferences to continue specialty training to become fully licensed physicians in the US.
UQ Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) Dr Anna Ciccarelli said it was a vital landmark for the first UQ-Ochsner students, and was the culmination of significant efforts by many people across the school.
The US Residency Matching Program uses the preferences submitted by applicants and programs to place new medical graduates into residency positions in the United States.
Four of the graduates have matched at the Ochsner Health System itself, with the remaining five matched in programs at Emory University, Wayne State University, University of Hawaii, University of Denver, and Eastern Virginia Medical School.
UQ-Ochsner Clinical School Head Professor William Pinsky said he was pleased with the success of the ‘pioneer class’.
“This truly validates their choice to enter our program as well as validating our strategy in opening the school," said Professor Pinsky, who is also Ochsner Health System’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Academic Officer.
The graduates will specialise in a range of disciplines from pathology to internal medicine, general surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology, and will begin their residencies in July 2013.
The Ochsner Undergraduate Medical Education staff held a reception for the graduates to celebrate Match Day.
About the UQ-Ochsner Program
In 2008 the UQ School of Medicine established a partnership with the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, United States. The Ochsner Clinical School was established, and recruitment of US students to complete medical degrees in Australia and theUnited States began.
Each year UQ recruits medical students who are US citizens or US permanent residents for the UQ-Ochsner Program. This program is a four-year Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery degree, with the first two years (pre-clinical) spent at UQ's Queensland campuses (St Lucia or Ipswich) and the final two years (clinical) spent at UQ's Ochsner Clinical School (New Orleans).
In 2010, the UQ School of Medicine gained Australian Medical Council accreditation for the unique partnership with the Ochsner Health System, emphasising the school’s status as Australia's Global Medical School.
The UQ-Ochsner Program continues to grow, with 64 students now at the Ochsner Clinical School (34 fourth-year and 30 third-year students) and 188 students in Brisbane (84 second-year and 104 first-year students).
Media: Brian Mallon, Communication Officer School of Medicine, 0403621109, 07 3365 5254 b.mallon@uq.edu.au
