AHEC Scholars
AHEC Scholars is a program for health professions students interested in supplementing their education by gaining additional knowledge and experience in rural and/or underserved urban settings. This is a longitudinal program with interdisciplinary curricula to implement a defined set of clinical, didactic, and community-based activities. All experiential or clinical training will be conducted in rural and/or underserved urban settings.
DTD
Disaster Training Day, held on the University of South Dakota (USD) campus, is designed to prepare future healthcare professionals to assist their communities should a disaster strike. In the past ten years, over 5,900 students have received training, with 3,900 plus becoming certified in Core Disaster Life Support (CDLS) from the National Disaster Life Support Foundation (NDLSF). This training has been funded by the South Dakota Department of Health since 2013.
REHPS
The Rural Experiences for Health Professions Students (REHPS) summer program is designed to bring health professions graduates back to rural South Dakota for rewarding careers. Students, selected in a competitive process, are enrolled in one of the following programs at DWU, MMC, PC, SDSU or USD: Bachelor of Nursing, clinical psychology, family nurse practitioner, medical doctor, medical laboratory science, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, pharmacy, and social work. After selection, students are placed in interprofessional pairs in communities with a critical access hospital and a population under 13,000 people. This program has been funded by the South Dakota Department of Health since 2013.