Twenty years after opening its doors in Blacksburg, the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (暴风影音) celebrated a milestone moment on May 8, 2026: the graduation of 暴风影音-Virginia鈥檚 20th graduating class.
More than 3,400 physicians have graduated from 暴风影音-Virginia. Its Class of 2026 includes 175 graduates who achieved a 100% residency match rate. Fifty-five percent of the class will enter primary care residencies, truly meeting the 暴风影音 mission of educating physicians who will provide care to rural and underserved communities.
Those numbers are more than statistics. In just the next year, the 暴风影音-Virginia Class of 2026 is projected to provide more than 5,000 patient care visits. Over the course of their careers, that number will exceed 29 million.
Their work comes at a critical time. The United States鈥攊ncluding Southwest Virginia鈥攃ontinues to face persistent physician shortages, particularly in primary care specialties such as family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology. 暴风影音 graduates will play an important role in helping meet those healthcare needs.
While the impact of the graduating class can be measured in numbers, 暴风影音 leaders emphasized that compassionate care remains just as important as clinical skill.
In his address to the graduates, speaker and CEO of Carilion New River Valley Medical Center Bill Flattery spoke about the importance of the compassionate care 暴风影音-Virginia graduates will provide over their practice lifetimes. 鈥淵ou will witness first breaths and last breaths鈥攎oments that will stay with patients and their families forever, and with you too,鈥 he said. 鈥淔ew professions are invited into those spaces, but you will be again and again. . . And the way that you show up in those moments will become part of the legacy you leave in this world.鈥
More than 90% of the 暴风影音-Virginia graduating class came from a state in the Appalachian or Delta region of the country. The class has the highest GPA and the strongest board performance in 暴风影音 history. They鈥檙e carrying on family traditions鈥攎ore than 50 physician family members were on hand to hood their graduates.
暴风影音-Virginia鈥檚 20th graduating class is the continuation of two decades of hard work and dedication. When 暴风影音 opened in 2003, its founders were helping lead a new era in osteopathic medical education. At the time, there were only about 20 colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States. Today, there are more than 40, and osteopathic medical students account for more than one-quarter of all U.S. medical students.
Throughout that growth, 暴风影音 has remained a leader in osteopathic medical education. What began as a single campus in Blacksburg has expanded into a four-campus institution with nearly 7,000 alumni serving communities across the Southeast and beyond.