HANCOCK -- When third year medical students, Keith Burley and Andy Swentik, were deciding where they wanted to complete their rotations, they were looking to work in a tight knit community.  So they chose the U.P.

"I just think that in a rural setting, you get to know your patients a little bit more; you see them in the community, so you have more of an interaction even outside the clinic," says Swentik.

"It's great for the one-on-one interactions with the doctors.  I think it is very important for developing clinical skills," says Burley.

At Portage Health, the residents get hands on clinical experience, doing things like working with lab equipment and reading x-rays.

But the most valuable experience?  Having the chance to meet and treat real patients.  They interview and look at patients on their own in the examining room and then go over their treatment plan with a physician.

"I think the benefit of them being in a setting like this is that do see a wide scope of practice.  These students in one day will see newborn babies, and they'll see elderly patients who may be in hospice care," says Dr. David Kass, one of the physicians training the students at Portage Health.

When the medical students aren't seeing patients, they're usually training on EMRs, or electronic medical records, which help store all patient documents and help streamline the patient care process.

But the benefits of this program go both ways--it's an opportunity for the doctors to recruit.

"I think that's the hard thing for us here in the Upper Peninsula, is that when it comes to recruiting physicians, a lot of people have never heard of Houghton or Hancock, Michigan...to try to get them to experience what a beautiful place it is, you really have to get them here.  It's hard to describe in a brochure," Dr. Kass says.

And even though it's only been a week since they started, it sounds like Dr. Kass may have already succeeded.  Both students say they plan to practice in the U.P. when they finish school.