AHEC Scholars

AHEC Scholars Program

The Arizona AHEC Scholars Program (ASP) is a two-year interprofessional program comprised of community-based experiential training conducted in rural and/or underserved settings within each of the Arizona AHEC regional centers. The ASP builds from the Rural Health Professions Program (RHPP) and curriculum content devised in collaboration with each participating RHPP program and each regional AHEC center.

NAHEC CPCHP Scholars — AHEC Scholars on tour of Tuba City

Overview of AHEC Scholars requirements:

Student must be enrolled and remain enrolled in and meet all academic and didactic training requirements of their respective health professional program.
Assigned to an interprofessional team, a Faculty Mentor, and Regional Center site.
Commit to 80 hours/year for two years (didactic + community experiential learning).
Understand that individual patients, families, communities and health providers are partners in shaping and delivering the educational experience.
Participate in reflection, active learning and critical inquiry.
Engage directly with patients and the community guided by their Faculty Mentor, RHPP Director, and AHEC Regional Center Director.
Learn factors affecting the social determinants of health, cultural competency, behavioral health integration, practice transformation, and current and emerging health issues.
Progress in learning from introductory experiences – reflective journaling; reviewing community health needs assessments and in the published literature; reviewing publicly available health information and reports; developing and administering surveys; collecting, synthesizing, and reporting data; presenting findings using contemporary data visualizations targeted to specific audiences (e.g., lay public or a professional audience); assessing the literature; and making recommendations to improve individual and community health.
Learn how collaborative relationships, team-based care, and interprofessional approaches to problems – including community agencies, patients, and health providers – are used.