Provided photot MSU College of Human Medicine class of 2025.

MARQUETTE – Fifty years ago, medical students made their debut in Escanaba at Doctor’s Park, the original site of the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Rural Physician Program. Since then, the program has graduated 350 doctors, many of whom continue to practice in the area.

The idea for a clinical campus in the UP began in 1969 with W. Donald Weston, associate dean at the College of Human Medicine, and other medical academics brainstorming the framework for a curriculum in rural medical education to address the physician shortage that rural areas were experiencing.

Despite skepticism and the perception that medical education would be inferior in the rural area, Weston persisted. There simply were not enough physicians in the UP and this concept offered a solution, according to the program’s history.

With funding secured and support from the College of Human Medicine’s dean Andrew Hunt, MD, the pilot program began, and the Upper Peninsula Health Education Corporation was formed to work in tandem with the college.

The story of the new Michigan State University College of Human Medicine rural campus circulated throughout the Upper Peninsula while a location was considered. Two family physicians, Drs. Ray Hockstad and Donald Fitch, were particularly enthusiastic and gained the support of other local clinicians to establish St. Franscis Hospital in Escanaba as the first teaching site.

MSU’s approach to community-based medicine was unconventional. After completing basic science training during their preclinical years in Lansing, students continued their training in clinics and hospitals across Michigan, which now included the UP.

Over time, more physicians and trained health care professionals took on teaching roles. Steve Messimer, one of the campus’ first preceptors in Escanaba, called it “one of the most innovative medical education experiences in the country.”

Regular lectures were rare, as students used programmed learning modules for their didactic learning and were assigned a panel of families for whom they would provide care.

“They would start by learning interviewing skills under the direct supervision of a clinical provider and move on to managing clinical issues as their learning and physical diagnostic skills improved,” Messimer said. “All student patient encounters were observed by a provider and a clinical psychologist with feedback on all aspects of their encounter. It was a wonderful system for all involved.”

After students completed 18 months of training in Escanaba they began clinical clerkships at other locations in the Upper Peninsula, such as Marquette General Hospital.

As the successful clinical campus in Escanaba continued, the Upper Peninsula Health Education Corporation administrative office was established in Marquette to create more opportunities for medical students.

“In the 1980’s, Marquette became the hub of a rapidly expanding medical community of young, well-trained board certified medical and surgical specialists,” said Bill Short, MD, former community assistant dean.

In 1986, the UP Campus relocated to Marquette, at the Wallace Building on West Magnetic Street, on the Marquette General Hospital grounds.

Throughout the years, resident physicians of the UP Health System – Marquette Family Medicine Residency Program have been integral in providing mentorship and clinical training within the learning spaces of the teaching hospital.

“Our students learn at health care systems and physician practices throughout the UP,” said Stuart Johnson, DO, community assistant dean. “It is with gratitude to our college, hospital, clerkship directors, preceptors, mentors, and all the stakeholders who have contributed to this campus, that makes rural education in the UP possible.”

“We strive to foster the growth and education of our UP Campus students, in the hopes they return to live and practice in our UP communities,” said Johnson. “Our team takes great pride in being a small part of the 50 years of medical education in the Upper Peninsula. We look forward to many more years of cultivating our learners to be their best.”

Local and UP-wide physicians have assumed teaching roles and embraced clerkship director roles. Current clerkship directors are Dr. Francis Darr in Pediatrics; Dr. Eric Jentoft in OB GYN; Dr. Nicole Alexander in Internal Medicine/Critical Care; Dr. Cameron Wilcox in Psychiatry; Dr. Ellie Barker in Family Medicine and Dr. Laura Lozier in Surgery.

For fifty years, the UP Regional Campus mission has been to educate and train medical students who will return and practice in communities across the UP to increase the healthcare workforce in underserved areas, and today that goal remains.

“The 20 years I spent as a preceptor and clinical provider at UPHEC were some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my professional life,” said Messimer.