AHEC Scholars
A two-year interprofessional program for health professions students focused on primary care in rural and underserved communities. Gaining additional experience through clinical practice and didactic learning.
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Our Programs
Workforce Training for Healthcare Communities.
From student pathway exposure to professional continuing education, NAO-supported programs strengthen every stage of the healthcare workforce pipeline.
AHEC Pathways
Early exposure programs that engage middle school, high school, and undergraduate students in exploring health careers and health professional opportunities.
Pathway Programs →National Training Center
Facilitates national continuing education projects and distributes workforce training across the full AHEC network of 300+ offices and centers.
NTC Partnerships →Continuing Education
Ongoing CE for practicing healthcare professionals — covering clinical updates, cultural competency, and rural practice topics to support retention.
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National Student Program
AHEC Scholars Program
AHEC Scholars is a program for health professions students interested in supplementing their education by gaining additional knowledge and experience in rural and/or underserved urban settings.
This two-year program includes 40 hours of community-based, experiential training and 40 hours of didactic training each year. It is designed to be completed concurrently with your existing health professions curriculum.
Core Educational Topics:
Interprofessional Collaboration
Understanding roles and coordinating care as part of a high-functioning healthcare team.
Behavioral Health Integration
Coordinating primary care services with mental health and substance abuse treatments.
Social Determinants of Health
Addressing economic, educational, and environmental factors affecting community health.
Cultural Competency
Delivering respectful and responsive care to diverse populations and language settings.
Practice Transformation
Implementing quality improvements, electronic records, and team-based workflows.
Current & Emerging Health Issues
Responding to contemporary challenges such as COVID-19, telehealth, and the opioid crisis.
Who Should Apply?
AHEC Scholars is designed for college-level health professions students in fields such as medicine, nursing, physician assistant, pharmacy, social work, dentistry, and allied health.
Flexible Formats
Program components are offered in online and hybrid formats to accommodate students from different institutions.
National Collaborations
NAO National Training Center
The NAO National Training Center facilitates federal and organizational partnerships to distribute targeted workforce training models across the full AHEC network of 300+ program offices and regional centers.
Through coordinated grants, the NTC provides training resources on public health priorities, clinical updates, and continuing professional education for practitioners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all AHECs do the same work?
All AHECs do the same type of work, but they have the flexibility to be responsive to their communities. While all AHECs have AHEC Scholars programs, different AHECs may do different types of health careers pipeline work. For example, most AHECs facilitate rural medical student clinical rotations, but some may also reach younger groups with summer camps for, say, middle school students.
Are there AHECs in every U.S. state?
States that currently do not have AHECS include Mississippi, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Wyoming and Delaware.
What determines if a state has an AHEC?
A medical school or school of nursing within the state must apply for and receive the federal AHEC grant.
How are AHECs funded?
All AHECS receive federal funding, and a majority receive state funding as well. In addition, many AHECs successfully pursue funding via grants and service contracts.
What is the difference between an AHEC center and an AHEC program office?
AHEC program offices typically are located in the school of medicine or nursing at the university receiving the federal AHEC grant. They contract with AHEC centers, which carry out the AHEC scope of work throughout their state. Typically, there are from two to 10 AHEC centers per state.
Typically, how many employees are on an AHEC staff?
The number of employees of AHEC centers may range anywhere from one to more than 100, but a four to eight-person staff is typical.
Are AHEC centers stand-alone organizations?
Yes, some are organized as 501C3s. Others are “hosted” by a larger institution such as a hospital, community health center, community college or university. In such cases, the AHECs may be a department of that institution but still maintains autonomy to fulfill the AHEC mission. All AHECs report to either boards of directors or advisory boards composed of members of their region’s communities.
Do AHECs offer scholarships or provide funding for grants?
No.
Do AHECs accredit continuing education programs?
Many do. Continuing education is a way for AHECs to help their rural/underserved medical communities stay connected with the latest information and with each other.
Do all AHECs provide housing options for student clinical rotations?
Many, but not all, do. AHECs are an integral part of their communities and are counted on to secure resources in service of the AHEC mission. Many have developed local and regional contacts for a variety of purposes, including securing housing options for students doing clinical rotations.