Building Tomorrow's Tribal Healthcare Leaders
The American Indian Health-Area Health Education Center (AIH-AHEC) Scholars Program offers a unique two-year community-based training experience designed specifically for health profession students committed to serving Arizona's tribal communities.
Program Overview
The Arizona AHEC Scholars Program (ASP) is an innovative two-year community-based interprofessional and experiential training program focusing on healthcare delivery in Arizona's rural and underserved areas. This program represents a key initiative within the broader Arizona Area Health Education Centers framework, with AIH-AHEC providing specialized training focused on tribal healthcare.Through immersive experiences in tribal communities, students expand their understanding of cultural resilience while gaining valuable insights into healthcare delivery in rural and underserved settings. The program combines didactic learning with hands-on community experiences to develop well-rounded healthcare professionals prepared to address the unique needs of tribal communities.
Who Can Apply
- Graduate-level health profession students enrolled in a Rural Health Professional Program (RHPP)
- Undergraduate nursing and public health students at Northern Arizona University (NAU)
- Students from NAU, University of Arizona, and Arizona State University
- Priority given to Indigenous students focused on healthcare issues
Program Requirements
- Time Commitment: 80 hours each year for two years (didactic + community experiential learning)
- Team Structure: Assignment to an interprofessional team of health professions students from Arizona's public universities, with guidance from a Faculty Mentor and the AIH-AHEC team
- Learning Activities: Participation in reflection, active learning, and critical inquiry with students from various health professions programs
- Community Engagement: Direct and indirect engagement with rural and/or underserved tribal communities
- Core Topic Areas: Social determinants of health, cultural competency, behavioral health integration, practice transformation, interprofessional education, current and emerging health issues, virtual learning, and telehealth training
Program Benefits
- Interprofessional Experience: Learn collaborative relationships, engage in team-based care, and develop interprofessional approaches to healthcare challenges
- Community Connection: Work directly with tribal communities to understand healthcare needs and develop culturally responsive solutions
- Progressive Learning: Develop skills in reflective journaling, community health assessment, data collection and analysis, and presenting findings to improve community health
- Professional Development: Network with healthcare providers, community leaders, and fellow students across disciplines
- Stipend: Financial support provided upon completion of program requirements
- Certificate: Formal recognition of program completion valued by healthcare employers
Application Process
- Applications Open: Summer each year
- Application Deadline: September (specific date announced annually)
- Program Start: Fall semester
- Duration: Two academic years
- Application Link: https://formstack.io/4CAE2
AHEC Scholars Community Immersion Program
The American Indian Health-Area Health Education Center (AIH-AHEC) provides a culturally diverse Scholars Immersion program for undergraduate and graduate students from NAU, UA, and ASU. The AHEC Scholars program represents a two-year community-oriented, interprofessional, and hands-on training initiative designed to address the unique needs of Arizona’s rural and underserved areas.
Through this immersive experience, students not only expanded their awareness of the rich cultural resilience in rural and underserved tribal communities, while also gaining valuable insight into the intricacies of healthcare delivery in such areas.
Applications for the AHEC Scholars program come out each summer for graduate and undergraduate students to apply for the program that starts the following Fall semester for a two-year program in a selected Tribal Community.
Scholars Cohort #1 (2023-2025)
The AIH-AHEC welcomed their inaugural Scholars Cohort #1 (2023-2025) for their very first Immersion day on the Tohono O’odham Nation. Students will continue their program with a total of four immersion opportunities within the Tohono O’odham Nation set to take place in the upcoming semesters throughout their program into 2025.
Scholars Cohort #2 (2024-2026)
The Second AHEC Cohort spent their first Immersion weekend on Hopi Land, visiting the Hopi Health Care Center with CEO Amanda Hicks and Public Health Educator Gary Leslie. Later in the day the group toured the Walpi Hopi Village where cultural ceremonies are still conducted on this village which is over 1,000 years old. The group then went out to a cornfield with Gary Leslie who shared the significance of corn within the Hopi culture and shared the process with harvesting. The Second Cohort will continue with their immersions through 2026.