The end goal is to have more health care providers practicing in more places, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

The best way to get providers to practice in small communities is to recruit students directly from small communities!

AHEC offers tremendous opportunities for students who are from, or interested in working in rural communities. The first step in the pipeline is to give every advantage possible to students from small towns, and help them build a career in health care.

Finding A Career

Finding a career you’re interested in is no easy task. And this doesn’t just apply to health professions. It is true for students across the board. However, when considering a health career, it can be overwhelming.

There are so many different professions and specialties it is difficult to know where to start. AHEC helps students bridge that gap by giving them tons of opportunities to explore various careers. And to explore them in different ways.

Job Shadowing

Job shadowing is one of the most direct paths to learning about a particular health career.

When you job shadow, you follow a health professional through part of their day-to-day routine.

This gives students a much more detailed look at what a particular profession actually does all day.

Not only is job shadowing an insightful experience, it is also a prerequisite for many health professions programs. Students can get program pre-reqs out of the way, while they are still considering their options.

Hands-On Experience

Even better than observing what a health professional does, is getting to do it yourself! AHEC offers a wide variety of ways to get hands-on experience practicing actual procedures.

Workshops and summer camps are the primary way students can receive practical training. These events are held throughout the year, but are different each year.

Procedures include things like giving shots, giving stitches, drawing blood, inserting breathing tubes and more!

Professional Exposure

A huge part of advancing any career is professional exposure. It is even more important when building a career in the health professions. AHEC gives students unprecedented access to health professionals throughout the system.

Participating in AHEC events helps students find mentors and build relationships with practicing professionals. Growing your professional network early in your career is vital to achieving your longterm goals.

Fill out our engagement form and join our ever-growing network of future and practicing health professionals!

Finding A Program

After a student figures out what area of health care they are interested in studying, they have to find the right program. Different programs have different requirements.

To get into medical school they need a four-year college degree. On the other hand, there are many different nursing positions that only require a two-year program.

So how does a student know which degree or program is best for reaching their goals? They get connected with Mid-MO AHEC, that’s how! AHEC is connected with almost every health profession and medical school in the country.

Mid-MO AHEC is just our local AHEC office. There are ten AHEC offices in Missouri and over 300 nation-wide. If we can’t get a student connected to the right school then no one can!

Fulfilling A Purpose

The end mission of AHEC is to transform health care through education. At Mid-MO AHEC, we know that the best future for Missouri’s health care requires our health care providers to be purpose-driven.

Helping students find careers in health care is about more than just career exploration. It is about finding people who want to make large impact on Missouri communities.

When someone commits to being a health care provider in a rural community, they are committing to more than just a position, they are committing to the community itself.

They won’t just be “a doctor at the hospital.” Instead they might be “the only doctor within 30 miles.” Providing great health care is about purpose!

If you are committed to improving healtch care in rural Missouri fill out our engagement form or head on to the second part of our pipeline, Professionals To Communities.