AHEC Scholars

Are you looking to lead healthcare for the underserved into the future?

Washington AHEC Scholars is a free program designed for health professions students who are passionate about serving under-resourced and rural patients and improving their team-based skills.  

By joining the AHEC Scholars, you will build on and contextualize skills you are learning in your primary program.  This program is funded by the Health Resources Service Administration (HRSA).

• SET YOURSELF APART

Attain a nationally recognized certificate and acquire a digital badge giving you access to future employment opportunities. These achievements will provide you with an advantage in applications to residency programs and/or potential employers, enhancing your marketability. Stipends may also be available at some AHEC Centers.

• CORE TOPIC AREAS

AHEC Scholars centers on eight core topic areas; interprofessional education, behavior health integration, social determinants of health, cultural humility, practice transformation, community health engagement, telehealth, practice transformation, current & emerging health issues.

• BROADEN YOUR NETWORK

Establish a robust professional network spanning diverse health disciplines. Collaborate closely with a cohort of peers representing various healthcare fields throughout Washington. Opportunities exist to become part of a larger national cohort, comprising of approximately 3,900 scholars across 49 programs nationwide

Explore eligibility criteria, annual requirements, and application links below.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE (+)

Eligibility criteria (+)

• Be a citizen of the United States or a foreign national with a permanent resident visa.
• Be two years away from program or degree completion (exception: medical and dental students may apply in the first year of their MD/DO or DDS program)
• The AHEC Scholars program places a special emphasis on assisting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, rural areas and first-generation college students.
• Be enrolled in one of the following Health Professions programs.
• Athletic trainer/Exercise Science MS 
• Clinical Mental or Behavioral Health Counseling* MA/PsyD
• Community Health Worker 
• Dental Hygienists
• Dentistry
• Medical Assistant
• Medicine MD/DO
• Nursing ADN/RN/DNP*
• Nutritionist/Dietitian
• Pharmacy PharmD
• Pharmacy Technician 
• Physical/Occupational Therapy Assistant
• Rehab Medicine (PT*/OT/P&O)
• Physician Assistant
• Public Health BS/MPH
• Recreation Management/Therapeutic Recreation Concentration BA
• Respiratory Therapist
• Speech-language Pathology
• Substance Use Disorder Professional/Addiction Counseling

* Students in this discipline must be 2 years away from graduating from their program.

LOCATIONS

WA AHEC is composed of four AHEC Centers which are supported by the central Program Office at the UW School of Medicine.  Each Center hosts a cohort of AHEC Scholars. In most cases, students join the cohort closest to their home, but there is some flexibility to accommodate scheduling needs. 

• Eastern Washington AHEC, Spokane
• AHEC of Western Washington, Bellingham
• Central Washington AHEC, Wenatchee
• Southwest Washington AHEC, Olympia/Seattle