SD AHEC Scholars |

The South Dakota AHEC Scholars: Rural Health Leadership Program is a national honors program for health profession students looking to expand their knowledge and experience in providing care in rural and underserved communities.

The program emphasizes an interdisciplinary team-based approach to address health disparities in your communities. The SD AHEC Scholars: Rural Health Leadership Program enhances healthcare knowledge in clinical and community settings, while participating in enhanced training experiences related to health care delivery impacting underserved communities.

Northeast SD AHEC

Mikayla Titus | m.titus@nesdahec.org

Southeast SD AHEC

Hanna Siems | hanna.siems@yrahec.org

Melissa Ettswold | melissa.ettswold@yrahec.org

Curriculum & Core Concepts

The curriculum complements existing coursework through education in the 9 core topic areas of the program. This program focuses on preparing students with skills in professional development, public health, and patient care to be transformational leaders in their field and communities.

Professional Development

(1) Interprofessional Education

(2) Leadership

(3) Practice Transformation

Public Health

(4) Community Integration & Resources

(5) Cultural Humility

(6) Social Determinants of Health

Patient Care

(7) Behavioral Health Integration & Resiliency

(8) Current & Emerging Health Issues

(9) Telehealth & Virtual Learning

“I joined this program to become a better-rounded health care team member and learn things outside my scope.”

“I thought it was meaningful to watch a lot of the practice transformation opportunities, particularly documentaries.”

“My favorite part of this program was being able to learn about a variety of different topics in different ways using different platforms. It made learning fun, and I feel like I was able to really do it at my own pace to get the most out of it.”

“The AHEC Scholars program allowed for greater professional development in serving rural and underserved communities and provided further education and training in key areas that will translate to my future practice.”

“I appreciated being able to work with other disciplines in some of the clinical hours that I completed. It was great to work alongside one another.”

“I joined the program because of the opportunity to learn information outside of regular curriculum that I could apply to my future career.”

Program Requirements

For bachelor and graduate level students, over the course of the 2-year involvement they are required to complete a total of 160 hours:

80 hours of clinical experiences
80 hours of educational activities

For associate and certificate level students, over the course of the six to twelve months involvement, students are required to complete a total of 80 hours:

40 hours of clinical experiences
40 hours of educational activities

*Students are able to count up to all of their hours of clinical experiences and half of their hours of educational activities from academic program.

Students are asked to complete 2 hours in each of the 9 core topic areas in total and participate in 1 Scholars/AHEC-led event each year.

Hours may include:

+ Google Classroom Opportunities

+ Ted Talk/Webinars

+ Podcast

+ Documentaries

+ Books/Journals

+ Research

+ Academic program directed clinicals

+ Shadowing

+ Internships

+ Volunteering

+ Community health projects

No event found!

“The program is very manageable if you are willing to look outside the box and give value to all the activities you are already involved in.”

“Take part in this program it will only further your education and make you a better medical professional in the future.”

“Becoming an SD AHEC Scholar will further allow you to gain professional development in serving this population as well as gain skills necessary for future practice.”

“Get involved and take advantage of the opportunity to learn and get to work with others.”

“Just do it! The experience is unmatched, and you get to make great connections.”

SD AHEC Scholars