AHEC Scholars Program
Increasing opportunities for community-based experiential training within the State of Alabama.
Better Serve Your Community with the AHEC Scholars Program
The Alabama AHEC Scholars Program is a multidisciplinary program that gives health professions students a unique opportunity to practice hands-on training and gain experience providing care in rural or underserved areas.
AHEC Scholars learn as inter-professional teams, completing didactic and clinical training alongside their regular curricula while preparing to work with Alabama’s medically disadvantaged populations.
About the Program
The Scholars Program is a two-year commitment and consists of 40 hours of online training and 40 hours of team-based service learning per year. Requirements for this program are in addition to a student’s regular coursework required by their degree program. Most instructional material is self-paced study, with some small group facilitated discussions and in-person workshops held in your region with local health professions faculty.
AHEC Scholars engage in team-based clinical experiences providing care to vulnerable and underserved patients in settings like homeless shelters, free clinics, community health centers, health fairs, and more.
A $500 stipend is available per year.
Scholars will enhance their knowledge and competence in the following areas:
- Interprofessional Education (IPE)
- Behavioral Health Integration
- Social Determinants of Health
- Cultural Competency
- Practice Transformation
- Current & Emerging Health Issues
Eligibility
First and foremost, we want to ensure that everyone participating in the AHEC Scholars Program has an interest in underserved rural healthcare.
- Are you looking for an opportunity to further prepare yourself for serving in the primary care workforce?
- Are you passionate about delivering high-quality care in the ever-transforming healthcare system?
- Are you passionate about improving care in rural and underserved communities?
- If you answered ‘YES‘ to any of these questions, you might be interested in becoming an AHEC Scholar!
In order to participate in this program, you must currently be enrolled in a health professions program with a minimum 2.5 GPA in one of the following fields:
- Medicine (MD/DO)
- Dentistry
- Clinical Psychology (PhD)
- Physician Assistant
- Nurse Practitioner
- Nurse Midwifery
- Pharmacy
- Optometry
Other disciplines may apply. Priority will be given to the disciplines above.
Application Process
You will be asked to provide personal and contact information. This information will be used both to screen applicants to the program, and for federal reporting purposes.
You must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher to apply for AHEC Scholars.
On the application, you will be asked to submit the following:
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One-page personal statement.
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Describe the experiences, reasons and/or events that led you to choose a career in the health field. Why are you interested in joining the AHEC Scholars Program? What are your plans following graduation and completion of your training? How will participation in the AHEC Scholars Program contribute to your career plans?
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All candidates must undergo 1 scheduled interview with their applying regional center.
Forms & Resources
All forms should be submitted to Kala Dixon at kalabdixon@uabmc.edu.
AHEC Scholars Monthly Check-in Form
AHEC Scholars Experiential Training Hours Form
AHEC prepares a culturally competent group of future healthcare professionals to succeed through service in underserved areas of Alabama. Learn more today!
Regional Centers
EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AHEC
NORTH ALABAMA AHEC
BLACK BELT ALABAMA AHEC
WIREGRASS ALABAMA AHEC
DELTA ALABAMA AHEC
The Alabama AHEC Network is dedicated to recruiting, training, and retaining the Alabama healthcare workforce while broadening the distribution of the health workforce, enhancing the quality of care, and improving health care delivery to rural an underserved populations in Alabama. The following centers are members of the Alabama AHEC Network and are federally funded HRSA AHEC Programs and nationally recognized Area Health Education Centers: Alabama Statewide Network Program Office, North Alabama AHEC (NAAHEC), East Central Alabama AHEC (ECAAHEC), Black Belt Alabama AHEC (BBAAHEC), Wiregrass Alabama AHEC (WAAHEC), Delta Alabama AHEC (DAAHEC).
