WesternU COMP celebrates 100% residency placement for the Class of 2025
Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) has 100% residency placement for the graduating Class of 2025.
COMP held its Match Day celebration at Doubletree by Hilton in Ontario, California on March 21, 2025. Class of 2025 students and their family and friends gathered together as they joined medical students across the country in opening the envelopes containing their match information. The moment was punctuated by shouts of surprise and joy, and plenty of hugs.
Match Day is celebrated across the U.S. as fourth-year medical students learn which U.S. residency programs they will train in for the next three to seven years. All DO and MD medical students enter the same residency pool and will become residents together in the same post-graduate training programs. The Match is hosted by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), through which medical students obtain residency positions in accredited training programs. According to the National Resident Matching Program, this year’s applicant pool was the largest match in the program’s history, with a total of 47,208 active applicants.
COMP had a 100% placement rate, with 58% going into primary care. COMP-Northwest in Lebanon, Oregon also had 100% residency placement. COMP and COMP-Northwest are ranked as a Tier 1 institution for primary care training by U.S. News & World Report for 2024-25, one of only 15 institutions in the top tier for primary care and one of only two osteopathic medical schools.
WesternU President Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, MBA, and COMP and COMP-Northwest Dean Lisa Warren, DO ’01, MBA, offered toasts via Zoom to COMP students at the Match Day celebration.
“The journey, we all know, has been long and arduous with many sacrifices along the way, and yet your tenacity and your determination and sheer will power has prevailed. As you know, the competition to secure a residency in 2025 is fierce,” Farias-Eisner said. “We are so proud of you. You are our new ambassadors. You will go out into the world and do incredible things and deliver care to those who need your incredible and unique skill set.”
Match Day is such a significant milestone in your career, Warren told the students.
“This is the most important but also the most exciting moment to know where you are going to spend your next three to seven years of your career learning and training to take care of the patients that you most passionately care about,” Warren said. “You have been resilient and dedicated throughout this entire process, and we are just excited to share this experience with you. To the Class of 2025, you have an amazing, bright future ahead. You are going to touch many lives and really make a difference. I am so proud to see where you will be going in your next journey. Congratulations!”
COMP student Nikhil Sinha matched into a family medicine residency at Kaiser Fontana. He celebrated with hugs and joy. He enjoyed his interview at Kaiser and felt a good vibe there. He chose family medicine because of the relationships he can develop with patients. Match Day was filled with a jolt of several different emotions.
“It’s a great moment to spend with friends and celebrate,” Sinha said.
COMP student Tushara Govind matched into an emergency medicine residency at UC Irvine. She said she was super nervous and also excited leading up to Match Day. She chose emergency medicine because of the pace and diversity of the ER.
“You get to see everything. I really wanted that,” Govind said. “Nothing is the same every day.”
COMP student Randy Chow, who grew up in Fremont, will return to the Bay Area for an internal medicine residency at Kaiser Oakland.
“I was very excited to see I was going home to a program I really liked,” Chow said. “I am really grateful they saw a lot in me to really believe in me and rank me pretty high. I can’t wait to get to work for them and be a great resident for them.”
Match Day and graduation represents 13 years in his process of attaining his goal, Chow said, and at times it seemed a long distance away.
“There were some dark moments wondering if today would happen,” Chow said. “It’s unreal. I’m embracing the moment and appreciating it and appreciating those who got me here.”
