Educational and CHC Partnerships/Teaching Health Centers: Q&A and Discussion

Proposal: ATSU Pipeline (Pathway) to Practice for Equitable Community Health: Educational and CHC Partnerships/Teaching Health Centers

This presentation is designed to be paired with the following ATSU presentations - ATSU Pipeline (Pathway) to Practice for Equitable Community Health: 1) University Mission Investment and Support and 2) Nurturing and Educating the Pipeline (Pathway) - Pre-PA recruitment, student support, and didactic training. Medically underserved communities are disproportionately burdened with disease states that go untreated/undiagnosed due to lack of access to quality healthcare and reduced racial and ethnic concordance between patient and provider. Identifying future healthcare providers who have the heart to serve in underserved and under-resourced communities is a critical step in improving health outcomes for patients.
Presenters: Sylvia Dory, MMS, PA-C, Assistant Professor, Clinical Coordinator, AT Still University, Arizona School of Health Sciences, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, ATSU ASHS-DPAS; Ayanna Galloway, MS, PA-C, Associate Medical Director for Rural Health Group and Regional Director of Medical Education, AT Still University, Department of Physician Assistant Studies. Ms. Dory will provide an overview of the ATSU ASHS-DPAS 12 month Clinical Training Curriculum, which occurs longitudinally in several underserved communities in North Carolina through Community Health Center partnerships. She will describe the integration of students into their respective communities and implementation of their Capstone projects, which includes a community-based needs assessment, identification of barriers to healthcare access, and intervention to promote access to equitable community health. Ms. Galloway will delineate how Rural Health Group works with ATSU ATSU-DPAS students through preceptorship during core rotations, Capstone project mentorship, and integration into the community, to address the unique barriers to healthcare in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. She will also discuss how Capstone projects have impacted the community. Ms. Dory will close with data describing the partnership success of how many students have remained in their community to practice after graduation.