AHEC Scholars Program: A Healthcare Fellowship

The AHEC Scholars program will prepare students to more effectively enter the health professions workforce. AHEC Scholars is designed specifically for applicants who have a strong interest in providing care to those living in rural and medically underserved communities across Indiana in positions such as physicians, physician assistants, nurses, public health practitioners, physical therapists, social workers, and other allied health occupations.

AHEC Scholars offers online learning units and community-based experiences designed to give health professions students a deeper understanding of rural and urban health care, caring for underserved populations, and the importance of practice transformation in a clinical care setting. Scholars will focus on five core issues – behavioral health integration, cultural competency, interprofessional education, practice transformation, and social determinants of health.

• Scholars earn up to $1800 in stipends (across the program)
  • $800 – First Year
  • $1000 – Second Year
• Two-year program (160 hours total)
• 40 hours online learning (per year)
• 40 hours community based experiences (per year)
• Focus on eight (8) core topic areas
• Emphasis on rural and underserved urban communities

• Must be in the final two years of an accredited health professions program. (HRSA approved field of study.) Two-year degree programs are eligible to apply.
• Must be enrolled and able to participate for the full two years.
• Must have reliable transportation: this program includes multiple site visits across the selected AHEC region.
• Must be able to provide the necessary paperwork (such as W-9 and direct-deposit form) to receive the annual stipend.
• Must be willing to respond to AHEC on an annual basis upon completion of the fellowship for updates on practice location and activities.
• Must submit program evaluations related to fellowship activities.
• Must be available to participate in 40 hours of online learning units and 40 hours of team-based community experiences per year (for two years).
• Must be willing to submit to a criminal background check and drug screening.
• AHEC Scholars Program and Policies

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Programs not mentioned may still be eligible. Email the AHEC program staff to discuss program options.

• Allied Health (Clinical Lab Technology)
• Paramedic Science
• Med Tech
• Health informatics
• Audiologist
• Behavioral Health (Psychology, Social Work, Mental Health Counselors, etc.)
• Community Health Worker | Advocate
• Dentistry (Dental Assistant, Dental Hygiene, General Dentistry, etc.)
• Dietetics | Nutrition Science
• Exercise Science
• Health Administration
• Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
• Medicine (Medical Assistant, Optometry, Pathologist Assistant, Physician Assistant, DO | MD)
• Nursing (CNA, LPN, LVN, Nurse Midwife, ASN, BSN, MSN, MS-NP, DNP, etc.)
• Nutrition / Nutrition Science
• Occupational Therapy (includes: OTA)
• Pharmacy
• Physical Therapy (includes: PTA)
• Public Health (All concentrations)
• Radiation Therapy
• Radiological Assistant
• Radiological Technologist
• Respiratory Therapy
• Speech-Language Pathologist / Speech Therapy
• Surgical Technologist
• Veterinary Medicine (DVM)

• Behavioral Health Integration care results from a practice team of primary care and behavioral health clinicians, working together with patients and families. This care may address mental health and substance abuse conditions, health behaviors (including their contribution to chronic medical illnesses), life stressors and crises, stress-related physical symptoms and ineffective patterns of health care utilization.
• Emerging Topics current of emerging issues in health care in Indiana e.g. such as Covid-19, Zika virus, opioid abuse, etc.
• Interprofessional Practice a coordinated, patient-centered model of health care that involves an understanding of the contributions of multiple health care professionals. Interprofessional Practice involves individuals from two or more disciplines with and from each other in effort to improve patient care.
• Practice Transformation aims to fully support quality improvement and patient-centered care. It involves goalsetting, leadership, practice facilitation, workflow changes, measuring outcomes, and adapting organizational tools and processes to support new team-based models of care delivery.
• Health Professionals aims to increase training and development of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and paraprofessionals as valuable members of the healthcare team.
• Virtual Learning and Telehealth focused on using integrated community-based experiential training to improve virtual learning and telehealth curricula.