College and University Students

The USF AHEC Program and its centers coordinate clinical training opportunities at community-based sites for health professions students. The AHEC sites bring health disparities to life for students; you will see first-hand the needs of uninsured and underinsured patients. We train students in these sites to expose you to the rewards and challenges of working with the medically needy – and possibly influence your career decisions.

We have many providers – with the values and commitment to work in underserved communities – providing the kind of comprehensive primary care that makes a difference in the lives of people in rural and inner-city areas. Our hope is that our preceptors will influence you to carry that enthusiasm with you once you graduate. And that you will choose to practice as a physician, nurse, dentist, public health professional or other health care provider in an area where you are most needed.

All third-year USF medical students rotate through an AHEC-sponsored community health site as part of their primary care clerkship. USF nursing students also complete community-based rotations. Public health students also elect to do field experiences at the community health sites. In addition, Gulfcoast North AHEC partners with other academic institutions such as Barry University, Florida A&M University, St. Petersburg College and the University of Florida to coordinate training for health professions students in its community-based and medically underserved sites in a five-county area. Gulfcoast South AHEC partners with Edison College, Florida A&M University, Florida Gulf Coast University, State College of Florida, Manatee Technical Institute and the University of Florida to coordinate training in a four-county area.

Last year alone more than 1,700 health professions students were trained throughout our nine counties. These students provided more than 215,000 hours of care to an estimated 350,000 patients, much of it in the state’s community/migrant health centers, health departments, rural health clinics and other sites serving the medically needy.

AHEC’s programs are exposing the next generation of health professionals to the rewarding experiences of working with the medically needy and influencing your future employment decisions to practice in medically underserved areas. Who will care for Florida’s growing population of uninsured and medically needy individuals? The answer is health care providers, like you, who are recruited into health careers through AHEC’s programs and go into practice in medically underserved areas. You can’t step foot into many of Florida’s community/migrant health centers (clinics serving the state’s medically needy) without running into physicians and others who are there as a result of AHEC.