When the University of Virginia School of Medicine bids farewell Sunday to the 143 members of its Class of 2014, the new medical doctors will move on to residencies. This year, 32 of them, or 22 percent, will remain in Virginia for the next phase of their training, thus contributing to the health and well-being of residents of the commonwealth.

“We are pleased that one in five of our new U.Va. School of Medicine graduates will remain in state for their residencies. There is a sense of coming full circle in terms of giving back to the commonwealth, of which our school is a part,” noted Randolph J. Canterbury, senior associate dean for education.

This year marks the largest number of U.Va. Medical School graduates who will remain in state for their residencies since 2007, when 31 members of the 133-member graduating class stayed in Virginia. Between 2004 and 2013, 1,335 medical students graduated from U.Va., and 270 of them, or 20 percent, entered residency programs in state.

Staying for Residency

For their residencies, 24 of the new School of Medicine graduates will remain at U.Va., four will go to Eastern Virginia Medical School and two will go to Virginia Commonwealth University. Two other graduates will go to the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth and Inova Fairfax Hospital.

The 2014 graduates are pursuing medical specialties that range from surgery, radiation oncology and anesthesiology to family practice, emergency medicine and pediatrics.

Importance of Giving Back

“I’ve lived in Virginia since I was 4, and most of my family lives here,” said Andrew J. Barros, who will be doing a residency in internal medicine at U.Va. Health System. A Burke resident , he observed, “I think giving back to the community is an important notion. The community supported us while we were in medical school, and I’m excited to care for patients in Charlottesville as I continue my training.”

Pooja Mehra of Forest will also be doing a residency in internal medicine at U.Va. “I chose to stay at U.Va. because it is an outstanding teaching and research institution, and it was important for me to stay close to my family,” he said. “I’m excited to continue my medical training here. It is a full-circle feeling for me because I’m a born-and-raised Virginian.”