Fifty-four SELECT (Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences, Collaborative Training) medical students with the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine and Lehigh Valley Health Network participated in the annual Match Day celebration March 17.

The SELECT students joined fourth-year medical students across the country in opening sealed envelopes to reveal the name of their “match” - the medical residency assignment that will shape their future careers as physicians.

Some of the SELECT students opened their envelopes at The Renaissance Hotel in Allentown.

Michael Villeneuve, of Macungie, participated in the Allentown Match.

Villeneuve will do his residency in surgery at LVHN.

Including Villeneuve, six SELECT students matched with LVHN.

“We are experiencing the golden age of education at Lehigh Valley Health Network,” Robert Barraco, M.D., Associate Dean for Educational Affairs of the Lehigh Valley Campus of USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and LVHN’s Chief Academic Officer Robert Barraco, M.D. said.

“Our four-year SELECT program is truly unique among medical school programs. Our partnership with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine means that students get two years of classroom learning at one of the country’s most progressive medical schools - and the region’s highest ranked medical school - and two years of clinical experience right here, at one of the nation’s top health care systems.

“This partnership allows our students to learn from, and be mentored by, some of the top minds in medical education. And now with the addition of LVHN’s new Center for Healthcare Education and the acquisition of the Venel Institute, a world-class anatomical research and education facility, our students are experiencing a transformative learning environment. We aren’t just training physicians. We’re training the leaders who will shape the future of health care.”

Match Day is a much- anticipated national event for graduating medical students.

The process is as follows: Fourth-year medical students apply to residency programs and attend personal interviews with prospective health organizations. After completing the interview phase, students submit a rank order list of their preferred training programs to the National Resident Matching Program. Residency program directors also submit an rank order list of their preferred students. A database aggregates the lists to come up with residency assignments that shape the careers of future medical doctors. The results are binding.

The USF/LVHN affiliation creating SELECT began in 2009. The region’s highest ranked medical school according to U.S. News & World Report, SELECT offers a medical education curriculum that trains a new generation of 21st century physician leaders, according to a news release.

LVHN serves as the northern instructional medical campus of USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. Students attend USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Tampa campus located in Tampa, Fla., for their first two years of medical school and then transition to LVHN for their last two years.