Alaska AHEC Wraps Up Busy Summer of Outreach

Alaska AHEC Wraps Up Busy Summer of Outreach
This summer, the Alaska AHEC completed a series of outreach projects focused on improving the diversity and distribution of healthcare professionals in Alaska. The programs, with a range of target audiences from youth to undergraduates, provided a unique perspective into rural healthcare and career pathways in the field. Thank you to all COH faculty and staff who helped make these projects a success! Here is a brief rundown of the work that kept AHEC staffers busy throughout the summer:

ANSEP Health Science Strand
AHEC led three groups of ANSEP students in health science career exploration this summer, including 53 middle school students and 43 high school students. The theme for these sessions was built around traumatic brain injury. It helped students explore career opportunities by highlighting the role of these professionals in the tumultuous journey of stabilization and recovery from these injuries, along with an underlying public health message regarding injury prevention.

Rural Immersion Institute of the North (RIIN)
The AHEC Program piloted the Rural Immersion Institute of the North in June with 14 undergraduate participants from the Lower 48 and Alaska. Students took part in the 3-week program, which provided them with rural healthcare shadowing, cultural attunement, and Alaskan outdoor recreation. The experience was eye-opening for all involved, and the AHEC looks forward to continuing RIIN in the future. Applications for the 2017 RIIN Program are currently open: bit.ly/2017RIINApplication. For more information, download the RIIN brochure: https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-health/departments/ACRHHW/_documents/RIINBrochure7-26-16.pdf.

Behavioral Health Career Pathways
The AHEC program expanded the 2015 pilot Behavioral Health Camp to include two new locations in summer 2016 (Anchorage and Fairbanks). Forty-four participants took part in the camps which focused on careers in behavioral health, self-care, mindfulness, and Mental Health First Aid certification. Plans are underway to rotate the camps to three new locations in 2017, including Ketchikan, Bethel, and Nome.

Junior Scrubs Academy
The SC AHEC, in partnership with the Municipality of Anchorage, held a Junior Scrubs Academy at Spenard Recreation Center with 24 participants ages 6-12. The academy provided an overview of the following disciplines via hands on and engaging activities and sessions: Medicine, Nursing, Behavioral Health, Veterinary Medicine, and Public Health. SC AHEC is currently planning for more informal “Pop-Up Camps” to take place at both Fairview and Spenard Rec Centers in the future.

For more information, or for potential opportunities to partner with the AHEC program on outreach efforts, please contact Gloria Burnett at gburnett3@alaska.edu or 907-786-6705.

Source: UAA College of Health – August 2016 Leadership Team Newsletter