Friday was the big day for Christian Pothering and his classmates, the first to graduate from Lehigh Valley Health Network's medical school program.

It was "match day" for fourth-year medical students across the country, which meant they would find out where they'd been assigned to complete their residency training.

Pothering, who grew up near Schnecksville and graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 2003, had a lot on the line. His wife just had a baby. He could be sent to Nebraska and forced to uproot his young family. Such was his nervous anticipation that he got only a couple of hours of sleep the night before.

"It's the fear of the unknown," he said. Though, he admitted, his trouble sleeping might have had something to do with "the screaming 3-week-old baby."

About 50 or so people gathered in the auditorium of LVHN's Mack Boulevard facility in Allentown for the network's match day event, which had something of an Oscars feel to it. When Pothering's name was called, he walked up front to receive the envelope containing his assignment. He quickly tore it open.

"Lehigh Valley Health Network," he announced to the crowd, which responded with hoots and applause. He wouldn't have to move after all. He could stay put, along with two of his classmates who also were paired with LVHN.

He was among eight medical students in the SELECT medical school program offered by LVHN in partnership with the University of South Florida in Tampa. Some of the 16 graduates attended match day in Florida. SELECT stands for scholarly excellent, leadership experiences and collaborative training.

Among their assignments were a number of nationally known institutions: the Cleveland Clinic, the Einstein/Jacoby Medical Center in New York City, the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education in Minnesota.

LVHN partnered with USF to create the SELECT program four years ago. Through it, students earn their doctoral degrees as well as unique SELECT certification. They spend two of their four years of study in Florida and two in the Lehigh Valley.

The SELECT curriculum has been designed to develop some hard-to-quantify qualities, such as social awareness and empathy, that can help doctors understand and better serve patients, and navigate today's complex health-care industry, SELECT Associate Dean Robert Barraco said.

See more here:

Match day for LVHN and St. Luke's medical students