Thinking back to Fall 2020, when you applied for the Scholars Program, what motivated you to join the AHEC Scholars Program?
Motivation is in the name AHEC, Area Health Education Centers! While participating in patient care hours during pharmacy school, I saw first hand how different populations have diversely different health literacy levels. I was seeking supplementary education to help better understand these vulnerable populations and how I may be of better service to them as a medical professional. AHEC promotes a longitudinal program to help students gain confidence in how to navigate cultural, economic, and language barriers in healthcare and how to facilitate meaningful, compassionate solutions. What's not to love about that?!
Tell us a little bit about your time in the AHEC Scholars Program.
AHEC provides workshops centered around specific core functions including, social determinants of health, behavioral integration, cultural competency, interprofessional education, practice transformation, and emerging health issues. These workshops allowed AHEC Scholars to have a safe and comfortable space to be immersed with populations or topics that were new and possibly uncomfortable for us. For example, AHEC provided a Refugee Health workshop that allowed us to be absorbed in the experience of a refugee. We were freely allowed to follow our curiosities by asking questions to the wonderful refugee volunteers without fear of criticism or emotional harm from or to either party. These are the experiences a didactic textbook simply cannot teach!
How will you use the skills, knowledge, and other lessons learned during the AHEC Scholars Program in your professional practice?
AHEC honored me with the skills to understand the needs of others. To notice when help is needed, how to gently approach a person in need, and multiple avenues to achieve support.
What is the next step for you in your career?
I have accepted a position in Phoenix, Arizona to help educate transplant populations on how to manage their immunosuppressive medication regimens. Persons who receive a solid organ transplant are started on a plethora of new medications which can be extremely stressful. I have AHEC to thank for preparing me for this role due to the generosity of volunteers who took the time to show the Scholars how different each person's situation could be and how to navigate these sensitive topics with compassion and understanding.
Would you encourage other health professions students to join the AHEC Scholars Program?
No Brainer! 12 out of 10 would recommend it! The AHEC program is the perfect program to supplement didactic education with cultural competencies that are not taught in school.
