Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM) has received a five-year, $4.3 million grant from the US Health Resources and Services Administration that provides medical school support to the New Jersey Area Health Education Centers (NJ AHEC) continues to provide training and education for students pursuing health care careers in underserved areas.
The NJ AHEC program has been associated with RowanSOM for over 40 years. In partnership with Southwestern AHEC, Garden AHEC and Shore AHEC, the program covers South Jersey’s seven counties and trains medical and health-care professional students to work with humility to provide culturally competent care to underserved communities. This unique program allows students to strategize and implement solutions outside of the classroom in communities affected by inequalities such as income, gender, race and location.
“NJ AHEC is a longitudinal, interprofessional program with a curriculum that implements a defined set of educational activities in medically underserved areas of New Jersey,” said Kristin N. Bertsch, Ph.D., director of NJ AHEC. “Our program is an exciting collaboration between RowanSOM, Camden County College, Rowan College of South Jersey, Rutgers University School of Nursing and Rowan University’s Departments of Nursing and Psychology to work in interprofessional groups and collaborate with community partners to work in underserved areas.”
Students who complete the two-year program receive a certificate of completion recognizing them as AHEC Scholars and demonstrating their commitment to working with medically underserved communities. You will join a national cohort of approximately 39,000 program graduates in 49 programs across the country.
The multifaceted curriculum includes interprofessional education, behavioral health integration, social determinants of health, cultural competence, current and emerging health issues, and virtual learning and telemedicine. Requirements also include establishing a youth public health program focused on recruiting high school students, conducting ten percent of clinical training in community settings, and developing curriculum within community-based accredited primary care residency programs.
“The hope is to inspire students to work in these underserved communities to help alleviate the physician shortages that exist in these areas,” added Dr. Added Bertsch.
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