The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine reached another milestone this week as it conferred medical degrees upon 102 graduates in its fourth graduating class, marking the first time the school has reached triple digits in graduates.
Since graduating the inaugural class of 18 doctors in 2021, the school’s classes have grown annually alongside admissions. This year’s class came from both the 2020 cohort of the medical school (75 students), who graduated after four years, along with part of the 2021 cohort (27 students), who completed their education in three years.
Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Bob Garrett was thrilled.
“The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine was founded upon great ambition and ideals,’’ he said. “Under its able leadership, it is changing the way that doctors are training — and what medicine can ultimately be.”
Dean Jeffrey Boscamp agreed.
“The school is truly reaching its stride,” he said. “Our curriculum is training the best doctors for the 21st century, and our institution is making a difference across the landscape. We are proud of what we’re doing, and we are excited about all our ongoing work.”
Approximately half of the Class of 2024 (50 students) will train in New Jersey for the first year of residency. Of these, 36 of the students matched into a Hackensack Meridian Health program.
Residencies where this class has matched include: locations across the Hackensack Meridian Health network; Stanford Health Care; New York University Langone; Yale – New Haven Hospital; Montefiore Medical Center/Einstein; Thomas Jefferson University; Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital; New York Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medical Center; and many other top institutions.
The specialties the students matched into include: internal medicine (29), pediatrics (12), radiology – diagnostic (eight), surgery – preliminary (seven) and neurology, emergency medicine and family medicine (six apiece).
Applications and enrollments have increased since the School of Medicine’s founding. Its inaugural class in 2018 included 60 students. The latest incoming class numbers more than 160, admitted from more than 6,000 applicants.