Andrea Rice, DO
Resident (Class of 2025)
Family Medicine Residency
About
I have deep roots in Illinois. I was born in Carbondale and I lived in outside of Champaign in a tiny town of Rantoul and on the now defunct Chanute Air Force Base as my father was in the Air Force. The Air Force sent us to Alaska when I was 8 years old, and I lived there until I was about 20, when I graduated from the University of Illinois with my associates in Medical Lab Technology. I moved away from the long cold dark winters and the gorgeous mountains and breathtaking landscape to live with my grandmother in Decatur because I didn’t know where else to go! But life happened and I ended up raising my five kids back in the Champaign area. Much of that time was spent in Champaign, but we had a hobby farm in the county for about 6 years, 5 acres with a menagerie of animals. It was an adventure.
I went back to school later in life and received my bachelor’s degree at UIUC in Champaign-Urbana in 2017 and went to medical school at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove in the Chicago suburbs. I thought I would specialize in pathology because of my background in the medical lab and because I love cells and microscopes; but once I started my 3rd year rotations, I realized I loved the continuity of care too much to miss out on the patient contact. Everyone in family medicine is usually super nice, and kindness is important to me, so it was a perfect fit.
I’m thrilled to be in Peoria for residency because our program at UICOMP is very nurturing and supportive while also being rigorous and offering a wide range of opportunities in training. I’m passionate about OB and love the opportunity to pursue that training here. I am also passionate about preventative medicine, abortion care, reproductive justice and care for underserved populations, all of which is deeply supported here. I’m looking forward to practicing full spectrum medicine in a rural setting after residency.