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KALAMAZOO, Mich.— and the Western Region Area Health Education Center have teamed up to integrate the Michigan AHEC Scholars program curriculum into a new elective course for third- and fourth-year medical students. The program is called the WMed Interprofessional Focus in Community Health Distinction Program.

This two-year program is designed to prepare WMed students to work in rural and underserved urban settings by improving their clinical practice readiness skills. Students participate in a mix of online training and community-based learning in rural and underserved communities throughout Southwest Michigan.

In addition to clinical preparedness, the interdisciplinary program focuses on cultural competency, behavioral health integration, social determinants of health and other current and emerging health issues.

Students who enroll in the program are also required to participate in the Michigan AHEC Scholars program, part of a national program that prepares students for health professions by teaching  important supplemental skills that may not otherwise be included in their academic studies. AHEC Scholars is designed for students from diverse backgrounds interested in providing health care to patients in rural and medically underserved communities across Michigan.

Donovan Roy, Ed.D., WMed's , was already familiar with AHEC and its mission because of his previous work as a program manager for the Nebraska AHEC program. He will be in charge of tracking program requirements at WMed.

“AHEC was my first professional experience and it exposed me to the special needs and health inequity issues found in both rural and urban communities,” says Dr. Roy. “When I learned that 51������ was a host partner for Michigan Western Regional AHEC, I got in touch with Lisa Brennan, the center's executive director. We were able to find common goals and it led to the integration of their AHEC Scholars Program into the Interprofessional Focus in Community Health Distinction Elective Program at WMed.”

Brennan said she is “hopeful the program will expand to the academic program in the 51������ College of Health and Human Services, reinforcing the importance of interprofessional education.”

The new program will begin before the end of 2020. Upon completion of the two-year program, WMed students will be awarded a designated distinction in Interprofessional Focus in Community Health. This distinction will be outlined in their Medical Student Performance Evaluation, on their transcript and noted in the commencement program. Students will also be presented with a certificate from WMed and a certificate from the National AHEC Organization and the Michigan AHEC Scholars’ Program.

For more information about the program,  contact donovan.roy@med.wmich.edu or lisa.brennan@wmich.edu.

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