MARQUETTE — The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Upper Peninsula Campus recently announced results of Match Day for its graduating medical students. Its campus, one of seven clinical campuses throughout the state, is a medical education collaborative between the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and UP Health System – Marquette, a Duke LifePoint Hospital.

“We are very proud of these students, they are a testament to the caliber of medical students we train at UPHS-Marquette and throughout the Upper Peninsula,” said Dr. Stuart Johnson, the CEO and community assistant dean of the U.P. campus, said in an announcement. “That sense of pride is shared by the excellent teaching physicians and health systems who provide one-on-one training for them. Many of our graduates decide to return to the Upper Peninsula to provide primary and sub-specialty medical care. This is a great tribute to the vision that the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, UP hospitals, local physicians, community members, and legislators developed over 40 years ago and continue to honor today.”

Match Day is day when medical students across the country learn where they will train in their chosen specialty. It takes place the third Friday of March each year. The National Resident Matching Program is the system through which the results are obtained.

The interview and selection process allows each applicant to rank their top choices of medical residency programs, while the programs in turn rank their top applicants. Results are computed by the National Resident Matching Program with a computer algorithm to most effectively link students to their preferred program. The process culminates on “Match Day” — when the results are revealed, and the new residents find out where they “matched” and where they will attend residency for the next phase of their medical training, organizers said.

Results from this year’s match are as follows:

≤ Colton Fernstrum of Menominee, Mich., matched into plastic surgery at University Hospitals-Jackson-MS in Jackson, Mississippi

≤ Joel Hunt of Cody, Wyo., matched into emergency medicine at Valley Health Systems-Nevada, in Las Vegas, Nevada

≤ Lindsey Kiiskila of Romeo, Mich., matched into diagnostic radiology at Spectrum Health/Michigan State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan

≤ Collin LaPorte of Missoula, Mo., matched into orthopedic surgery at Cleveland Clinical Foundation-Ohio, in Cleveland, Ohio

≤ Aaron Leach of Marquette, Mich., matched into interventional radiology at Spectrum Health/Michigan State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan

≤ Jackie Luthardt of Kingsford, Mich., matched into obstetrics-gynecolog­­­y/rural at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin

≤ Lucas Meehan of Rudyard, Mich., matched into psychiatry at San Antonio Military Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas

≤ Stephen Trombley of Midland, Mich., matched into pediatrics at Spectrum Health/Michigan State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan

≤ Ellen Wiitala of Marquette, Mich., matched into emergency medicine at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, Utah

As part of the UP campus, these students took part in the Rural Physician Program that offered them the unique opportunity to experience hands-on medical care in a rural setting while training at clinics and hospitals throughout the Upper Peninsula region.

At the end of the 2021 school year, 320 medical students will have graduated from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine UP Campus.

About 30% of its alumni students are physicians practicing in the Upper Peninsula in primary care and various specialties of medicine.