The Rural Community Health Program (R-CHP) is a certificate program within Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (MSUCHM) that prepares current medical students for leadership and service within community-based rural health networks. For the first 2 years of medical school, students are either at the East Lansing or Grand Rapids campus. For years 3 and 4, students are assigned to a clinical campus in Traverse City or Midland and to a rural educational site. Students live and work within their rural communities, which allows them to form relationships and build on experiences from their clinical training. The purpose of R-CHP is to increase the number of and prepare medical students to practice in rural areas of Michigan when they become physicians.