Desert Meadows AHEC

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Overview

Desert Meadows Area Health Education Center (AHEC), operated by Comagine Health, helps prepare Southern Nevada’s future health care workforce. Serving Southern Nevada, including Clark County, the center connects students with interdisciplinary training, community-based experiences and networking opportunities to prepare them for future leadership roles in health care.

Desert Meadows is one of three regional centers delivering the Nevada AHEC Scholars Program. Nevada AHEC is housed within the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine’s Office of Statewide Initiatives and is part of the national AHEC network, supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). AHECs also connect through the National AHEC Organization, which supports collaboration and shared learning across the network.

Program goals

  • Prepare future health care leaders through education, hands-on learning and professional connections
  • Promote collaboration across professions by helping students understand the roles of different disciplines and work effectively together
  • Connect education with community needs through experiences in rural and underserved urban settings
  • Support Nevada’s health care workforce by encouraging students to pursue careers and remain in the state
  • Advance access to quality care by preparing professionals to serve communities with unmet health care needs

Other Nevada AHECs

Desert Meadows works alongside two other regional centers to support health workforce development across Nevada.

Frontier AHEC

Based in Elko and affiliated with the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Frontier AHEC prepares future health professionals to serve rural and underserved communities. Its programs connect students with health career exploration, leadership development and hands-on rural learning experiences. Learn more about Frontier AHEC.

High Sierra AHEC

Based in Reno, High Sierra AHEC serves northwestern Nevada, including Carson City and Churchill, Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Washoe counties. The nonprofit offers health career exploration, student leadership programs, AHEC Scholars opportunities and workforce training to help improve access to care in rural and underserved communities. Learn more about High Sierra AHEC.

Participate

The AHEC Scholars Program primarily serves graduate students pursuing clinical and nonclinical health-related degrees. Undergraduate students interested in health careers are also welcome to participate alongside graduate-level scholars.

The program supplements students’ academic education with online learning, clinical and community-based experiences, leadership development and opportunities to connect with peers and health professionals.

Focus areas

  • Interprofessional education: Working collaboratively across health professions
  • Behavioral health integration: Connecting behavioral health with other health care services
  • Social determinants of health: Understanding how social and economic conditions affect health
  • Cultural competency: Preparing to serve people from diverse backgrounds
  • Practice transformation: Exploring improvements in how care is organized and delivered
  • Current and emerging health issues: Learning about changing community needs and health care challenges

Programs of study

Students may come from a range of health-related fields, including:

  • Biology
  • Clinical mental health counseling
  • Dental medicine
  • Health care administration and policy
  • Marriage and family therapy
  • Medicine
  • Nursing
  • Pharmacy
  • Physical therapy
  • Psychology
  • Public health
  • Social work

Students in other health-related programs are encouraged to inquire about eligibility.

Time commitment

Scholars commit to a two-year program totaling at least 160 hours of supplemental training.

Each year includes:

  • 40 hours of classroom or online instruction
  • 40 hours of clinical or community-based experiential learning

Students receive guidance from AHEC staff throughout the program. Qualifying internships or practicums completed through their academic programs may count toward experiential learning requirements.

How to apply

Complete the online Nevada AHEC Scholars application and identify Desert Meadows AHEC as your regional center. Accepted students receive instructions for scheduling an individual orientation and completing participation paperwork.

Apply to be an AHEC Scholar

FAQs

The purpose of the Nevada AHEC Program is to meet the needs of the communities we serve through robust community-academic partnerships, with a focus on recruiting, training and developing our health care workforce.

The Nevada AHEC aims to increase quality and qualified health care workforce in Nevada through building a health care careers pipeline by recruiting young individuals.

The Nevada AHEC Scholars Program seeks to develop future leaders in health care by providing interdisciplinary training to college and university students across the state. AHEC Scholars are encouraged to stay in Nevada following completion of their studies to improve quality of care with a focus on rural and/or underserved urban communities. There are three chapters of the Nevada AHEC Scholars Program: Desert Meadows AHEC in Southern Nevada, Frontier AHEC in rural Nevada, and High Sierra AHEC in Reno.

Students enrolled in two-year degree programs focused on health care are eligible to apply to the Nevada AHEC Scholars Program. This includes clinical and non-clinical degree programs.

Yes. This includes master’s, professional and doctoral students in clinical and non-clinical health care related degree programs.

Applicants to the Nevada AHEC Scholars Program must be enrolled in clinical or non-clinical health care related programs of study that are at least two years in duration. Examples include the following:

  • Biology
  • Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  • Dental Medicine
  • Health Care Administration and Policy
  • Marriage and Family Therapy
  • Medicine
  • Nursing
  • Pharmacy
  • Physical Therapy
  • Psychology
  • Public Health
  • Social Work
  • Other health care related fields

Yes. Students who are enrolled in at least six credit hours during Fall and Spring semesters you are eligible to apply.

Nevada AHEC Scholars may start the program with less than two years to graduation. Many go on to graduate studies or enter internship, apprenticeship or residency programs while completing the Nevada AHEC Scholars Program.

While there is no set deadline to apply, the Nevada AHEC Scholars program includes a competitive application process, so we encourage students to submit online applications the first few weeks of the fall or spring semester. We establish cohorts of Nevada AHEC Scholars to have the opportunity to learn and engage with each other throughout their time in the program through educational opportunities and social events.

The Nevada AHEC Scholars Program accepts applications online. Interested students can apply here.

Those who are accepted to the Nevada AHEC Scholars Program will receive an email with instructions on how to schedule your one-on-one orientation and review and sign necessary paperwork. If you are not invited to join the Nevada AHEC Scholars Program, you will also receive email notification.

Nevada AHEC Scholars participate in a variety of interdisciplinary training opportunities via interactive online learning and in-person experiences. The Nevada AHEC Scholars Program focuses learning opportunities on the following:

  • Interprofessional education
  • Behavioral health integration
  • Social determinants of health
  • Cultural competency
  • Practice transformation
  • Current and emerging health issues

Nevada AHEC Scholars are also offered opportunities to relax and connect as peers during social events.

Yes. AHEC Scholars can complete required hours ahead of the program’s two-year timeframe. The AHEC Scholars Program’s online learning opportunities allow scholars to complete modules and activities self-paced. Scholars may also be eligible to have their college/university degree program internship and/or practicum hours applied toward their clinical experience hours in the AHEC Scholars Program.

The Nevada AHEC Scholars Program partners with institutions and organizations across the state to provide hands-on, interdisciplinary learning opportunities. Participating institutions and organizations include the following:

  • Clark County Health District
  • Nevada Health Centers
  • Southern Nevada Health District
  • The Perry Foundation

The Nevada AHEC Scholars Program provides students supplementary education with dynamic online education and real-world experiences through interdisciplinary training. In addition, Nevada AHEC Scholars have opportunities for networking and job placement.

Please contact:

Desert Meadows AHEC
Edy Taylor
ETaylor@comagine.org
505-998-9760

Sonia Gamboa
sgamboa@comagine.org

Frontier AHEC
Alexis Kirby
frontierahec@med.unr.edu
775-327-5070

High Sierra AHEC
Sarah Bakondi, Program Director
sarah@highsierraahec.org

National Area Health Education Center Program

Partners and contacts

Regional/statewide hospitals

Desert Meadows AHEC
Edy Taylor
ETaylor@comagine.org
505-998-9760

Sonia Gamboa
sgamboa@comagine.org

Frontier AHEC
Alexis Kirby
frontierahec@med.unr.edu
775-327-5070

High Sierra AHEC
Sarah Bakondi, Program Director
sarah@highsierraahec.org

National Area Health Education Center Program

Disclaimer: The Nevada AHEC Scholars Program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Grant #U77HP23062 with 50% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.