The deadline to apply is Saturday, August 10, 2024, at 5:00 PM EST.
Applicants will be notified of their status by Saturday, August 17, 2024, at 5:00 PM EST.

What is the AHEC Scholars program?
AHEC Scholars is for current health professions students interested in positioning themselves to join a well-prepared, diverse, and culturally competent primary care workforce.

Who can apply?
The program is open to students in the final two years of a degree (or an associate's degree) in disciplines that support primary healthcare services delivery in both clinical and non-clinical roles. Applicable majors include but are not limited to medicine, community and public health, nursing, social work, and allied health programs. The program has a special interest in students from underserved, under-represented populations and/or disadvantaged backgrounds.

The program’s core topics are:
1. Interprofessional Education
2. Behavioral Health Integration
3. Social Determinants of Health
4. Cultural Competency
5. Connecting Communities and Supporting Health Professionals
6. Virtual Learning and Telehealth
7. Practice Transformation
8. Current & Emerging Health Issues

What are the program requirements?
This two-year program requires each student to complete:

• 40 hours of didactic learning (including classroom-based and online) each year for two years, and
• 40 hours of experiential learning (including team-based and community-based experiences) each year for two years.

This is in addition to your regular course load. Some current courses may be eligible for AHEC Scholars credit.

AHEC Scholars' timeline runs from the Fall of Year 1 through the Spring of Year 2. Applicants selected in this cohort (Cohort 7) would be committed to working from August 2024 through May 2026.

What are the benefits?

• A twice-yearly stipend (depending upon funding available)
• Participation in professional conferences and continuing education opportunities
• Student research opportunities
• Clinical and community shadowing experiences
• Team-based community experiences working in rural and urban underserved areas
• Recognition from the National AHEC organization
• AHEC Scholars cord and certificate of completion at graduation

For the next question, you will need to determine if you are from a rural community. Enter your current and previous addresses in the search form on this website: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/rural-health?tab=Address

For the next question, you will need to determine if you are from an underserved community (also known as a shortage area). Enter your current and previous addresses in the search form on this website: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area

For the next question, you will need to know about the criteria for a disadvantaged background. 

Disadvantaged Background means an individual comes from an educationally/environmentally or economically disadvantaged background. Educationally/environmentally disadvantaged means an individual comes from an environment that has inhibited the individual from obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to enroll in and graduate from a health professions school, or from a program providing education or training in an allied health profession. Economically disadvantaged means an individual comes from a family with an annual income below a level based on low-income thresholds, according to family size established by the U.S. Census Bureau, adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index, and adjusted by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for use in all health professions programs.

The Secretary updates these income levels in the Federal Register annually. Low-income family/household is defined by the Secretary for various health professions programs included in Titles III, VII, and VIII of the Public Health Service Act, as having an annual income that does not exceed 200 percent of the Department’s poverty guidelines.

A family is a group of two or more individuals related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together. A household may be only one person. Parental income will be used to determine a student’s eligibility as economically disadvantaged in all cases except those where the student is considered independent by being at least 24 years old and has not been listed as a dependent on his or her parents’ income tax for 3 or more years. In those cases, the students' family income will be used instead of parental family income.

In the area below, include a statement of 1000 words or less, on how you will meet the challenge of the AHEC Scholars program in addition to your regular coursework. Include any strategies that you will use to ensure your success and address the following:

• Goals for participation in the AHEC Scholars Program,
• Previous experience, if any, in interprofessional clinical training, service learning, health promotion, or any other health education activities,
• Unique qualities or lived experiences that you bring to the AHEC Scholars Program,
• Commitment or experience with marginalized and/or underserved individuals and/or communities.