University of Florida
North Florida AHEC Program
Recruiting Providers to Areas of Need
An important part of the AHEC mission is to improve the geographic distribution of health professionals. One of the ways AHEC does so is by placing health professions students in medically underserved areas where they will be exposed to practice opportunities they might not otherwise have considered. In many cases, community- based training has resulted directly in permanent job placements at medically underserved sites. AHEC also provides targeted recruitment assistance through practice opportunities programs and by acting as a one-on-one information and referral service for students, medical residents and clinical sites.
BIG BEND AHEC: PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PLACEMENTS
AHEC rotations resulted in two physician assistant placements in the Big Bend service area in 1997-98. Charles Byron went to work for Dr. Peter Imber in Panama City after completing an AHEC internal medicine elective with him. Also, former UF physician assistant student Chunky Miller took a position in the emergency room at Jackson Hospital in Marianna, a Health Profession Shortage Area. Miller recommends that physician assistant students keep an open mind about practicing in a rural area. "My AHEC rural rotations made a 100 percent difference," Miller said. "If I had not had the rotation here, there's probably no way I would have considered this position at all."SUWANNEE RIVER AHEC: TARGETED PLACEMENT ASSISTANCE
When North Florida Medical Centers' Cross City facility lost its primary-care physician, AHEC helped the federally funded community health center implement a recruitment plan that included advertising and networking, as well as enhancements to the clinic itself to increase its capacity and make it more attractive to potential recruits. As a result of these efforts, the clinic was able to recruit Dr. Dubravka Jovanovic, who now serves this rural north Florida community as a primary-care provider. "One of the main reasons why I accepted this position with North Florida Medical Centers was the opportunity to work with AHEC and to be involved in clinical teaching," Jovanovic said. "I have always been involved in teaching and I did not want to stop just because I was working in a rural community. This clinic offers a wonderful opportunity for students who are interested in learning about rural health, and I'm glad I can be a part of that."NORTHEAST FLORIDA AHEC: COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCE INTERNSHIPS
AHEC supports the community health science program at the University of North Florida by developing and coordinating 360-hour student internships at community agencies. Priority is placed on underserved or rural internship sites, and students receive guidance and on-site evaluations from AHEC staff. One UNF intern, Angela Lee, completed her AHEC internship at the St. John's County Health Department, where she coordinated a folic acid education program for pregnant women. After coordinating her internship, AHEC assisted in placing Lee in a position with the Tobacco-Free Partnership of Flagler County, which has more than 150 teens and 20 community organizations committed to a tobacco-free environment. Lee's placement is not an isolated example. In fact, she is one of 24 community health science interns who have been placed in jobs with AHEC assistance. The program has been so successful, it received the 1997 National AHEC Center Directors' Association Recognition of Excellence Award for Health Professions Student Training.WEST FLORIDA AHEC: NURSE PRACTITIONER PLACEMENT
As
a Florida State University nurse practitioner student, Tamberlynn Williams
was interested in finding rural clinical education sites. But living in
Pensacola and working in Mobile, Ala., she was having trouble finding preceptors.
Her problems were solved, however, when she called AHEC, which placed her
with Dr. Lance Raney of Century Medical Center. Williams spent two semesters
training under Dr. Raney at the rural health clinic. The experience was
so positive for both of them, she ended up going to work there upon her
graduation. "I wouldn't have known about Century Medical Center were it
not for AHEC," Williams said. "I never would have even thought of coming
up here." Williams has been at Century Medical Center for more than a year
now and has become a widely respected provider in the rural communities
of Century and Jay.
PLACING PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS THROUGH TRAINING
Of the 54 physician assistant students who graduated from the University of Florida in 1998, 94 percent had at least one AHEC-coordinated clinical rotation. Of those, 51 percent now are working in medically underserved areas, including nine graduates who are employed at rural sites. More than half of those who completed AHEC rotations are working in primary care, and 22 percent of those who accepted jobs in the north Florida area are working at AHEC training sites. By comparison, of the few students who did not complete AHEC rotations, none are working in a medically underserved area, none are in a rural area, and only one is working in a primary-care field. These figures support anecdotal evidence from hundreds of health professions students who have reported that AHEC community-based training experiences influenced their decision to practice primary care in rural and medically underserved areas.
