Newsletter 2022.7

CONGRATULATIONS!

To our 2nd Year Scholars, your time with our program has come to an end!* Thank you for your collaboration and participation in the program.  We hope it has added context and value to your education.  We wish you luck as you continue on your path towards a rewarding career. 

You will be receiving a certificate of completion** via post—if you haven’t responded to our message requesting your address, please look for a reminder this week.

For our returning Scholars, our program is under construction.  We are developing ways to improve the program’s delivery and engagement.  Keep an eye out for announcements in August—starting with a new name!

Have a great summer.

Kate

*For Geisel students: we will include you on newsletters through the end of the summer.  For FPU and UNH students: we will include you on newsletters through the end of your program. You are all always welcomed (and encouraged) to attend!

** We will send a participation tracker survey, post-completion survey, and for some, the baseline survey. Please help us report your efforts to our funders and respond to those surveys.

NH AHEC Health Service Scholars Request

It’s reporting time!  We need to report to HRSA on program activities.  Please respond to surveys that will be coming your way in the next couple weeks. There will be:

  1. For 1st year scholars, a baseline survey (if not already completed).
  2. For 2nd year scholars, a request for your current mailing address and best email for reaching you in about a year. 
  3. For 2nd year scholars, a post-program evaluation.  Tell us what you learned and how we did to help you get there.
  4. For all—a participation tracker—tell us what you did to learn more about the health care needs of rural and urban underserved populations this year.

NH AHEC Health Service Scholars Opportunities

I’m using this last newsletter of the term to share info about Project ECHO, an important training model that you will likely use as a healthcare provider.  ECHO allows you to learn directly from specialists and peers through web discussions of real (anonymized) cases.  The model was developed at the University of New Mexico, but there are hubs around the country.

Dartmouth Health’s ECHO Hub engages local specialists and community experts.  New sessions are posted, and can be applied to here: https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/project-echo.  Recorded (enduring) sessions are housed here:https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/project-echo/enduring-echo-materials. 

Enduring sessions that might be of interest to the NH AHEC HS Scholars:

Integration of Behavioral Healthcare and Primary Care

This recorded ECHO session features DH provider Dr. Matthew Duncan, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine.  Dr. Duncan discusses the history of the integration of behavioral health into primary care, and explores models of treatment of mental health and substance use disorders through primary care. 

Political Determinants of Health

This recorded ECHO session features Dr. Sally Kraft, MPH, and VP of Population Health at Dartmouth Health.  Dr. Kraft presents cases that exemplify the impact of social determinants of health in NH.  She outlines key social drivers of health, and explores how health providers can be involved in interventions.  

Participation Tracking: What, How, Why

NH AHEC HS Scholars is funded by HRSA, the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  HRSA is the primary federal agency for improving health care to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.  This means, of course, that with the funding comes the need to report on your activities.  We aim to make this easy.  Here’s how it works:

  1. Apply to the NH AHEC Scholars program here.  Give us a few sentences that describe your interest in doing so.  Answer a few questions.  Approx time needed: 5 min.
  2. Once we review and accept your application, we will email you a baseline survey to gather information about you as you begin the program.  Approx time needed: 7-10 min.
  3. You check out our website, with recorded sessions and other didactic resources.
  4. We will email you regular newsletters about upcoming opportunities that we organize or that we think are of interest and relevant.   
  5. Attended a session organized or advertised by the AHEC?  Great!  We want to know.  There are two ways to report it:
    • Go to the link of the event on our calendar, and in the description of the event, click on the Activity Log.  Give us a brief response to our questions.  Approx eval time needed: 5 min.                 

      -OR-
    • Keep track of it on your own, and report your attendance in the December or June Participation Tracker Survey, which will be emailed to you.
    • If you report some activities via the Activity Log and some via the Participation Tracker Survey, that’s good too!
  6. Attended a non-AHEC session pertaining to one of the following topics?  Also great!  Report it via the Activity Log, as well as the emailed Participation Tracker Survey, as above.
    • Rural health care
    • Care for medically underserved populations, including those in urban areas
    • Primary care
    • Behavioral health integration into primary care
    • Telehealth
    • Substance use disorders and treatment
    • Social determinants of health
    • COVID-19
    • Addressing health disparities and inequities in NH
    • Interprofessional education and health care delivery
    • Practice transformation
  7. Did you do community volunteering?  You rock. Seriously. Tell us via the Activity Log or the Participation Tracker Survey—no matter what the activity.  Let us decide if we will be able to report it for AHEC purposes.
  8. Tell us about your clinical work, including volunteering, shadowing, and interning, even that which is required by your academic program.  Report it via the Activity Log or the Participation Tracker Survey.

Questions?  Let me know!

Scholars’ Bios

Add your bio to our Scholars’ page! Please forward a photo (png, jpeg fine; as high a resolution as possible) and a brief introduction to yourself (150–250 words). You are welcome to re-use something you’ve already used elsewhere!