RURAL HEALTH PROFESSIONS
RMED
The Rural Medical Education (RMED) Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford (UICOMR), is a statewide, nationally and internationally recognized rural medical education program that seeks to recruit, admit and educate medical students, who will upon completion of residency training, practice medicine in a rural location. RMED is a supplement to the regular medical school curriculum.
About RMED:
The RMED Program was established in 1993 through state legislation to improve access to physicians in rural, downstate and shortage areas of Illinois. The RMED Program is evidence-based and employs a “grow-your-own” model by recruiting students from rural communities who express a desire to return to a rural Illinois community to practice medicine.
RMED Features:
RMED students accepted to the program participate in an add-on curriculum which complements the UICOMR curriculum including:
- Train in rural/underserved communities throughout the state of Illinois as part of the third-year rotation requirements
- Participate in an add-on rural interprofessional curriculum during all four years of medical school, including seminars, field trips, and projects
- Complete an immersive, 16-week, clinical rotation at an RMED collaborating hospital throughout Illinois, with additional options in tribal regions of Northern California and Wyoming
- Complete a community-based research project in a rural location
RMED Impact
Since its inception in 1993, the University of Illinois RMED Program has graduated 271 physicians. Of those, 214 graduates are in practice with an additional 57 graduates in residency training. The majority of RMED graduates (68%) have remained in Illinois.
About Our Graduates
- 80% of graduates attend primary care residencies (RMED leads the nation)
- 75% of graduates practice in towns of less than 20,000 people
- RMED graduates are practicing in 80 different Illinois communities
- RMED graduates are 8.5 times more likely than other University of Illinois College of Medicine graduates to practice in a rural location and
- RMED graduates are 9.7 times more likely than other University of Illinois College of Medicine graduates to practice in communities designated as primary care shortage areas
Students interested in the RMED Program will need to apply to University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), which can be accessed from www.aamc.org. Eligible applicants will be provided a Supplemental Information Application to complete.
Additional instructions to apply to RMED:
- During the supplemental application process, eligible students will be provided access to the RMED application, which is required for consideration for the RMED Program.
- Request three letters of recommendation from people in his/her home community. These letters are in addition to the academic letters submitted through AMCAS and required by UIC.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible candidates have a rural background and are commited to practicing medicine in rural communities. Students must apply to both the University of Illinois College of Medicine and to the RMED Program, a dual application process.
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