They Matched! FAU Celebrates Match Day with Soon-to-be-Physicians
Match Day Snapshot: FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine celebrated Match Day 2026 with its largest graduating class to date – 79 students – marking a significant milestone in their journey to becoming physicians. This year’s results underscore the strength and impact of the program, with students securing residency placements at leading institutions across Florida and the nation, positioning them to make meaningful contributions to patient care and the future of medicine.
The class of 2026 demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing critical health care needs, with 53% of graduates remaining in Florida and matching across 21 institutions, and 33% entering primary care fields such as internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics. In addition, students achieved placements in highly competitive specialties including dermatology, neurological surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, plastic surgery and urology – highlighting both the breadth of opportunities earned and the caliber of their training. In addition, FAU’s post-graduate residency programs matched 47 outstanding graduating medical students from various backgrounds throughout Florida and the nation into FAU’s residency and fellowship programs.
celebrated “Match Day” with the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine’s class of 2026 – the largest class in the school’s history with 79 students. Excitement filled the room during this career-defining day as the fourth-year medical students and soon-to-be physicians discovered their residency placements, surrounded by family, friends and faculty.
Along with thousands of other fourth-year medical students around the nation, the class of 2026 opened their sealed envelopes promptly at noon to learn where they will fulfill their dreams for medical residency training. Residency programs take three to seven years to complete depending on the specialty, and such training is required to become board-certified.
Match Day occurs nationally on the third Friday of March every year when the results of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) are announced. Results of the Main Residency Match are closely watched because they can predict future changes in the physician workforce.
Florida faces a significant physician shortage, with projections of nearly 18,000 fewer doctors by 2035. The challenge is compounded by an aging workforce – about 35% of physicians are 60 or older – and widespread shortages in primary care physicians, particularly in rural and underserved communities. FAU’s medical school is actively addressing the projected physician shortage, making meaningful contributions to strengthening and expanding the future health care workforce.
Among those celebrating the class of 2026 was FAU President Adam Hasner, who attended to congratulate the students on reaching this milestone. Hasner championed a multi-year effort to secure funding and approvals to establish the independent medical school at FAU in 2010 while he was majority leader in the Florida House of Representatives, laying the foundation to reshape health care delivery in the region.
“Match Day is a transformative milestone that reflects years of perseverance, dedication, and growth on the path to becoming a physician,” said Lewis S. Nelson, M.D., dean and chief of health affairs, Schmidt College of Medicine. “The class of 2026 has demonstrated remarkable commitment, and we are especially proud that many of you will continue your training here in Florida, serving and strengthening our local communities. While today marks a significant achievement, it is only the beginning. In the years ahead, these newly minted physicians will advance patient care, drive innovation across specialties, and play a vital role in building a more accessible and resilient health care system.”
This year’s match continues to reflect a strong emphasis on Florida placements and primary care, with 53% of graduates remaining in the state and matching across 21 institutions. Notably, 33% of the class will enter primary care fields, including internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics – areas of critical need within our communities.
At the same time, the class of 2026 achieved impressive outcomes in highly competitive specialties, including dermatology, neurological surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, plastic surgery and urology, underscoring both the breadth and strength of their training.
“Watching our students match into residency programs across Florida and throughout the country is a source of tremendous pride,” said Jennifer W. Caceres, M.D., vice dean for medical education and professor of medicine, Schmidt College of Medicine. “The class of 2026 is stepping into critical roles at a time when the need for compassionate, highly trained physicians has never been greater. Each of you will make a meaningful impact – caring for patients, strengthening communities, and advancing the future of medicine. Wherever your training takes you, you will always remain an important part of the MedOwl family.”
The 21 Florida institutions where the class of 2026 placed include FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine; Cleveland Clinic Florida (2); Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education-Florida (5); Memorial Healthcare System-FL (6); Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida; Orlando Health (4); University of Florida College of Medicine-Shands Hospital (3); University of Miami/Jackson Health System (1); and University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine-Tampa (7).
The class of 2026 also placed in several other top institutions nationally including Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School; Duke University Medical Center, Durham; Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; ISMMS Mount Sinai Hospital, New York; Mayo Clinic, Rochester; UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles; and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
In addition, FAU’s own graduate medical education training programs matched 47 outstanding graduating medical students from various backgrounds throughout the nation into FAU’s residency programs in internal medicine (24), surgery (12), emergency medicine (6), psychiatry (3), and neurology (3). FAU’s fellowships also will welcome new trainees in cardiology (3), hospice and palliative care (1), geriatrics (3), vascular surgery (1), pulmonary disease and critical care medicine (3), and emergency medical services (1). This year’s cohort includes 11 Florida medical school graduates and a record-setting four FAU residents entering FAU fellowships.
“The incoming physicians who are joining FAU’s residency and fellowship programs are an exceptional group – talented, driven and eager to take the next step in their medical training,” said Lisa Clayton, D.O., associate dean for graduate medical education and designated institutional official at the Schmidt College of Medicine. “Our programs are built to both challenge and support our trainees, offering a dynamic environment that fosters clinical excellence, strong mentorship, and innovation as they advance to the next stage of their medical careers.”
The NRMP uses a computerized mathematical algorithm, the “matching algorithm,” to place applicants into the most preferred residency and fellowship positions at programs that also prefer them. Research on the algorithm was the basis for awarding the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Each residency program at a hospital has a fixed number of first-year positions that they can fill each year based on their accreditation. Leading up to the big day, each student lists in order of preference the residency program that they seek to work with, and each residency program then ranks its applicants in order of its own preferences. These lists are then processed through the algorithm, which determines each student’s residency placement – results are revealed simultaneously across the country on Match Day.
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