20 Ways to Celebrate National AHEC Week

March 24 – 28, 2008

Sponsor an AHEC exhibit at:

Your AHEC Center’s Host Institution
Your AHEC Program Office
In your university setting, i.e. Administration Bldg

Coordinate an AHEC cabinet display at:

Your school of Medicine
Your school of Nursing
Your School of Public Health
Your Program Office or Center

Initiate/establish an AHEC bulletin board that highlights current and future AHEC activities/programs

Post Center newsletters
Post Center/Program activities

Lead or facilitate an AHEC demonstration that includes health professions students that have completed an AHEC rotation
Provide an AHEC award to:

A champion of primary care at your school, from the community, from state government, or to a preceptor who has gone “above and beyond”
Health professions students who embody the AHEC “ideal”
A community-based mentor of health professions’ students
A provider in private practice who ensures access to care to all individuals

Connect with a health care celebrity to:

Tell their story in a community forum
Promote your AHEC Program and Center
Give a talk/lecture to students or do a “Grand Rounds”
Develop short AHEC-sponsored PSAs
Teach a middle or high school class

Ask to be a web link to:

Your local state Health Department
Health & Education community based organizations
Local Community Health Centers and Free Clinics
Hospitals in your state and AHEC region
Other partner non-profit organizations

Offer an AHEC 101 class to:

A Community Health Center
Your Deans
Your School President/Provost
An organization or group that you’ve never worked with before

Write an AHEC column for a newspaper regarding:

Health education
A health career that supports primary care
A “hot” topic in health
An issue regarding health care policy in your state or in the country
The economics of health care

Write an AHEC column for a newsletter that:

Highlights the role your AHEC plays in addressing health care issues
Presents the many ways in which your AHEC partners with other organizations
Promotes the need for continuing education opportunities for the health care workforce

Write a letter to the editor/Op Ed regarding:

A health career that supports primary care
A “hot” topic in health
An issue regarding health care policy in your state or in the country
The economics of health care
Health care issues in your state
The role AHEC plays in addressing health care disparities and health care access

Partner with the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) to sponsor an event that emphasizes the importance of primary care to the health care delivery system
Send an e-mail blast about an AHEC success story
Recruit students to create an AHEC banner for display
Partner with Student Affairs for an AHEC activity that:

Promotes community involvement
That highlights the work medical, nursing, and allied health students are doing that supports medically underserved communities and populations

Highlight AHEC on your school’s main website that:

Demonstrates the importance of your AHEC to your school, community and state

Talk about AHEC on a local community-based TV or radio station
Hold a press conference highlighting a particular issue your AHEC is working on and invite local media, state legislators, and local health care leaders
Hold a health career fair and highlight how AHEC is making an impact in your state in terms of recruiting students and others into health professions
Come up with something entirely original, unusual, and fun that highlights your AHEC