Matt Peters

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Alaska Anchorage, Geology

Medical School: University of Washington School Of Medicine

Life/professions/adventures prior to attending medical school: Carpenter, Whitewater Raft Guide, Commercial fisherman, Exploration Geologist, Ski Lift Operator, Dogsitter

Interests / Hobbies: Anything that gets me outside! I love any kind of skiing, any kind of climbing, gentle jogs in beautiful places, and bobbing around in both moving and stagnant water. I also enjoy cranking through audiobooks, woodworking projects, and improving my relatively weak culinary skills

Favorite Food: I enjoy a well-made breakfast sandwich. Also medium spicy Thai

Restaurant Recommendation: The Banks Cafe, Banks Idaho. Its really less about the food and more about the location. It sits right at the confluence of two amazing rivers, and tends to be full of lovely people who are excited about paddling them!

Favorite TV Show or Movie: Gotta be Seinfeld, or maybe The Office.

What book do you recommend to others and why: Empire of Summer Moon, S.C. Gwynne. Totally eye opening book about the settling of the American West and conflicts with the Comanche.

Favorite Hike or Ski trail: Its not a trail per se, but ski touring anywhere in the Chugach or Kenai mountains in southcentral Alaska tends to bring me great joy.

Favorite Beach (doesn’t have to be in Maine): Gotta be Higgins, though Desert Point in Morocco is a close second. 

Closest brush with a famous person: I think I saw Alex Honnold's van one time. Hard saying for sure though, sprinters are a dime a dozen these days.

Celebrity I most resemble: In the right light I have been told I look like a less charismatic Conan O'brien. 

Craziest / Best / Worst Job: Commercial fishing hands down! I spent four summers on a boat off the west coast of Alaska catching sockeye salmon, definitely the hardest I have worked and the least I have slept.

If I weren’t a doctor I would be: Probably a geologist? Though I like to think in an alternate universe maybe I could have been a fireman/paramedic or started a food truck of some kind. Tough to say definitively with the road not taken being what it is. 

Medical Interests: The list keeps changing but at various times I have been pretty fired up on critical care, US, and the wilderness medicine scene.

Personal Goals: I am really excited to embrace the never ending learning curve and become a better physician! I also want to explore the Northeast and really make it home in these next few years.

Favorite Place in Maine: That’s a tough one... I am going to say any beach. Acadia in the fall was also pretty darn rad.

Why MMC: During my away rotation I was totally blown away by the great relationships the residents, attendings, and ED staff had with one another. Everyone seemed so genuinely happy to be at work. It was pretty clear that the program goes above and beyond to support and teach the residents. I also really wanted to live in a place with easy access to the outdoors, and MMC totally checks that block. The city of Portland is super livable, I don't think I will ever have to sit in traffic for an hour to get home after a shift.