The Rural Medical Education Program (RMED) is one of the strongest programs in rural medicine in the nation and is a supplement to the regular medical school curriculum.  The RMED Program was established in 1990 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 Illinois communities who express a desire to return to a rural Illinois community to practice medicine. In addition to the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford Doctor of Medicine curriculum, RMED students participate in an add-on rural interprofessional curriculum during all four years of medical school, including seminars, field trips, projects and a 16-week preceptorship experience in a rural Illinois community.