Graduate Nursing students Mosam Patel and Kelsey Wolfe have been selected as the 2020 Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars at the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center.
This program is designed for health professions students interested in supplementing their education by gaining additional knowledge and experience in rural and/or underserved urban settings. In this two-year program, students will receive 40 hours of didactic training and 40 hours of clinical training each year along with a stipend. The students will receive core content around interprofessional education, behavioral health integration, social determinants of health, cultural competency, practice transformation and current and emerging health issues.
This experience is an opportunity for these students to gain knowledge, skills and experiences that will help them meet the needs of underserved populations.
Wolfe said she is excited to be a part of the AHEC Scholars Program to meet and learn alongside other students in healthcare professions. “This opportunity perfectly fits what I am most passionate about – providing healthcare to the underserved,” she said. “AHEC will help me learn and grow by exploring healthcare disparities and how to best combat those disparities. Everyone should have equal access to excellent quality and affordable healthcare.”
Patel is looking forward to the excellent opportunity to learn about the underrepresented. “I have always been interested in helping those who have difficulty accessing healthcare. My ultimate career goal is to set up a clinic in a rural area to give them the care they need. With this program, I can eventually reach my goal by gaining more knowledge and experience,” she said.
Belmont’s Graduate Programs in Nursing have had AHEC Scholars since 2018. The 2018 AHEC Scholars were Joanna Plumb and Jaanki Bhakta. The 2019 AHEC Scholar was Taylor Journigan.
The AHEC mission is to enhance access to quality health care, particularly primary and preventive care, by improving the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals via strategic partnerships with academic programs, communities and professional organizations. These efforts support strategic priorities to increase diversity and distribution among healthcare professionals and enhance healthcare quality and delivery to rural and underserved areas.
