Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE -- It's a big commitment--four years of medical school and anywhere from three to five years in a residency program.

"I think that is somewhat of a barrier," said first year resident, Dr. Kimberly Howard.  "Although now especially physicians practicing in rural areas, there is a fair amount of loan repayments and incentives to practice rural medicine."

Two programs based at Marquette General, the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and the Marquette Family Medicine Residency Program, train medical students and residents for a career in sparsely populated areas of the country.

According to the U.P. Health Education Corporation, about 50 percent of its family medicine residents practice in the U.P. after they complete their residency at Marquette General, and since the program's inception 35 ago, about 30 percent of its medical students have returned to the area.

CEO Dr. David Luoma of the UPHEC says he only expects those numbers to increase in the future.

"We have had tremendous demand of students wanting to come to our campus," said Dr. Luoma.  "Michigan State University, last year, had 5,000 applicants for their medical school."

For those planning to practice here in the U.P., Tuesday's UPHEC recruitment fair was an opportunity for them to consider what is available.

"I think it's a great way to get a feel for other hospitals in the community," Dr. Howard said, "because some of the hospitals are three to four hours away."

As the students and residents browsed the various booths at the fair, health care officials remain hopeful that they will find their calling here in the U.P.