AHEC Scholars Program

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The AHEC Scholars Program is an opportunity for certain health profession students (medical, advanced practice nursing, registered nursing, pharmacy, physician assistants, dentistry, graduate psychology, CHWs, graduate public health, and social workers) to participate in interprofessional healthcare team activities. The duration of the program is 1-2 years (depending on discipline), runs concurrently with a student’s academic curriculum, and concludes when the student graduates from their respective health profession program. In addition to educational and professional enrichment, the AHEC Scholars Program offers a $500 stipend, per year, to help offset student costs.

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Why Scholars Program?

  • Be a part of a federally recognized program
  • Opportunity to engage with medically underserved communities
  • Learn about different populations living within South Texas
  • Network and train interprofessionally with various health profession students
  • Gain knowledge of working with underserved and rural populations
  • Learn about community resources that can improve patient care

What’s Involved?

  • Commitment to completing 1 or 2 years of the program (depending on discipline)
  • 40 hours of didactics (online) each year of the program
  • 40 hours of experiential learning (community-based activities, clinical rotations) each year of the program
  • Completion of the program MUST be concurrent with the student’s graduation from health profession program

Who Can Participate?

  • Students currently enrolled in a health profession program
  • Students who are willing to take on extra-curricular activities in addition to their academic commitments
  • Current Eligible Disciplines:
  • 1-Year Track
    Clinical Research Coordinator, Advanced Technical Certificate
    Community Health Worker
    Dental Assistant, Level I/II Certificate, Diploma
    Dental Hygiene
    Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Ultrasound, AAS
    Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) /Paramedic, Level II Certificate
    Health Information Technology, Coding Specialist, Level II Certificate
    Healthcare Unit Coordinator, Level II Certificate
    Medical Assistant, Level II Clinical Certificate/Diploma
    Nursing (LVN)
    Nursing Accelerated (BSN)
    Occupational Therapy Assistant, AAS
    Patient Care Technician, Level I Certificate/Diploma
    Pharmacy Technician Certificate/Diploma
    Physical Therapist Assistant, AAS
    Radiology Technician, AAS
    Respiratory Technician
  • 2-Year Track
    Behavioral Health (various types) Graduate Level
    Dentistry
    Dietitian
    Healthcare Administration
    Medical Residents (Primary Care)
    Medicine
    Nursing (ADN/RN)
    Nursing (BSN)
    Nursing (NP)
    Nursing Doctorate
    Occupational Therapy
    Pharmacy
    Physical Therapist
    Physician Assistant
    Psychology Graduate Program
    Public Health (Graduate)
    Public Health (Undergraduate)
    Social Work (Graduate)
    Social Work (Undergraduate)
    Speech-Language Pathology
    Speech-Language Pathology Assistant
    Speech Therapy

Please contact Roni Vela by e-mail at VelaV4@uthscsa.edu for more information.

Practicum Sites

South Central

  • El Bari Community Health Center
  • Frio Regional Hospital
  • The Neighborhood Plance
  • San Martin de Porres Catholic Church

South Coastal AHEC

  • Amistad Community Health Center (FQHC)
  • Mission of Mercy
  • Nuecus County Wellness Clinic
  • Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital

Southwest Border

  • UMC (FQHC)
  • Yeled Shalom

MRGB

  • Border Region Behavioral Health Center
  • Gateway Community Health Center (FQHC)
  • Ruth B. Cowl Rehabilitation Center

LRGV

  • TBA

Testimonials

“I really wanna thank AHEC for the opportunity to be part of the Scholars Program. I didn’t really understand the impact it was gonna have in my career. I recently got hired for a Nurse Practitioner position and I am updating my resume and all of a sudden I realized that all the didactics and practicum that I did while at AHEC are finally gonna pay off. I am getting credit for all the hard work and it means a lot to me. My Program Director is super proud too. She wants me to list everything I ever did at AHEC. The big shots will look at those when determining my pay. THANK YOU all. I really appreciate ur leadership.

“I believe the learning moment that contributed the most to becoming a better team member was the discussion and input from all the providers at the rounds. Everyone had a different approach for their specific set of skills, but at the end of the day they were all there to improve the lives of the patients and​ caregivers.”