Health Careers Diversity & Recruitment
Vision Statement: “All healthcare agencies in the Northwest AHEC 17-county region have a diverse, culturally competent workforce at all health profession levels.”
Northwest AHEC is committed to diversity and cultural competency not only due to its diverse constituency but recognizes that ultimately the future health outcomes of its constituency will be dependent upon a diverse and culturally competent workforce. To that end, Northwest AHEC offers the following programs.
K-12 Programs
Vision Statement: “Every K-12 student in the Northwest AHEC 17-county region is aware and excited about the broad spectrum of health careers as viable and attainable career option.”
Structured Programs
Middle School
Project SEARCH
Project SEARCH Academy is a one-week in residence experience at Wake Forest University combined with five (5) Problem Based Learning (PBL) cases at CERTL Academy (Center of Excellence For Research, Teaching and Learning), five (5) guided career facilitation sessions and a post mentorship experience with a health professional for rising eighth graders in the Northwest AHEC region. Students are exposed to a variety of health science presentations and observation tours. Project SEARCH is held in June of each year at Wake Forest University.
High School
Camp Med
Camp Med is a one weekday camp designed to recruit, educate and prepare high school students for careers in the health profession. The program specifically aims to identify at least fifteen (15) diverse ninth through twelfth grade high school students who have an interest and the academic potential for a career in the health sciences. These students are chosen from seventeen (17) counties that make up Northwest AHEC’s region.
9-12 CERTL Research Program
The 9-12 CERTL RESEARCH PROGRAM was established to increase interest in science and mathematics research among high school students. The program provides hands-on research experience with distinguished faculty from Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Students will develop, design and conduct a science or mathematics research project with the guidance of a faculty mentor. Minority students are encouraged to apply.
CERTL and the Northwest Area Health Education Center (AHEC) have partnered to expand the 9-12 CERTL Research Mini Fellowship program to non-Forsyth County Students. This expansion program seeks to recruit highly motivated students from the counties surrounding the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
2007 CERTL Research Program Application
Awareness Programs
Elementary School
PUPPET BUNCH
The Northwest AHEC invites all schools in its seventeen county region to schedule a fun and educational program for their kindergarten through second grade classes. Students will thoroughly enjoy learning about health careers and health behaviors during this entertaining 30-minute classroom presentation, which includes a video movie, puppet demonstration and group discussion. The educational materials feature eight loveable puppets called the Health Careers Puppet Bunch. Each puppet represents a different career in health. Through this multi-media experience, the puppets are matched with real professionals who look like them and share the same career. The materials portray multicultural and non-traditional gender roles in health care. Children also play the healthy behavior game using the Health Careers Coloring Book, which they get to keep. Teachers like and appreciate the program and find that it fits into their health and science curriculum.
CATCH (Catch A Totally Cool Health Career)
The CATCH Program was designed for third, fourth, and fifth graders. It introduces them to healthcare careers through random selection of pre-chosen healthcare careers and medically-oriented props, such as clothing and equipment during a 45 minute presentation. Students are given a booklet which outlines 11 healthcare careers, job descriptions/duties, clothing and equipment used.
Middle School
COOL PEOPLE, COOL CAREERS
Students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades are introduced to careers in healthcare through random selection of pre-chosen healthcare careers and medically-oriented props. The 60 minute presentation also includes information about the secondary education classes and post-secondary educational requirements, as well as earning potential for the healthcare careers discussed. Students are given a booklet which captures the information discussed during the presentation. Click here to view the COOL PEOPLE COOL CAREERS CD.
High School
Future Leaders in Health Care Annual Conference
The Future Leaders in Health Care Conference targets high school students that have a strong interest in healthcare as a future career. The conference includes educational workshops and discussions on specific topics like leadership development, public health issues, cultural diversity in healthcare, adolescent health, volunteerism, bioterrorism, and more. Students also have the opportunity to network with several colleges and universities and healthcare professionals.
This conference is part of the NC AHEC mission to improve the supply and distribution of the healthcare workforce by providing support at every link of the educational pipeline. Focus is placed on minority and disadvantaged students because statistics show that in all health professions, minority populations continue to be under-represented relative to the overall population in the state. The United States Department of Health and Human Services states that “increasing the number of minority health professionals is viewed as a partial solution to improving access to care. Several studies have shown that under-represented minority health profession graduates are more likely to enter primary care specialties and to voluntarily practice in or near designated primary care workforce shortage areas.”
Future Leaders Application Form
Future Leaders 2008 Agenda (draft)
Post-Secondary Programs
Vision Statement: “All 2-year and 4-year college students in the Northwest AHEC region are aware of the broad spectrum of graduate degree science and health professions as viable and attainable career options.”
The Northwest AHEC and several local post-secondary institutions are in the process of developing programs to build awareness of graduate degree science and health professions. In the meanwhile, listed below are websites which provide information about post-secondary institutions offering graduate degrees in science and health professions.
Post-Secondary Information/Resources
Financial Aid Resources
1. The Student Guide is a comprehensive resource on student financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education. Grants, loans, and work-study are the three major forms of student financial aid.
2. FinAid! The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid FinAid, The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid, is the most comprehensive free resource for objective and unbiased information about student financial aid on the World Wide Web.
3. Federal Student Financial Aid from ED/OSFAP Financial Aid for Students is the official home page for the Federal Student Aid programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
4. College Savings Plans Network. This is an affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers.
5. Financial Aid Resource Center - Scholarships, Grants, Loans for College A comprehensive guide to financial aid and scholarship for college.
6. KapLoan - Kaplan Put the FUN in fund your education by facing financial scenarios. Make wise decisions and have enough money for tuition AND late-night pizza.
HEALTH CAREERS MANUAL
A great resource which is specifically designed for the state of North Carolina. The North Carolina Health Careers manual provides information for over 90 different health occupations including job descriptions, average salaries, NC state post-secondary institutions, financial aid opportunities, etc.
Other Resources
Kids Into Health Careers
Diversity/ Cultural Competency Program
Four diverse and seasoned Northwest AHEC staff have designed a diversity/ cultural competency workshop for healthcare professionals which addresses issues likely to be encountered in clinical practices given the major population increases for non-white groups. For more details on the workshop, look for “Valuing Differences in Every Encounter” in the CE Program listing .
Recruitment
RN Refresher