Northwest AHEC was proudly represented at the 2025 National AHEC Organization (NAO) Conference held June 17–20 in Lexington, KY. Northwest AHEC staff - Nedra Edwards Hines, Reed Burger, and Melanee Mills joined over 600 attendees from AHECs across the country to engage in meaningful dialogue, share best practices, and explore innovative strategies to strengthen the AHEC mission.
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This presentation will provide an in-depth update on the evolving landscape of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, focusing on the latest modalities and their clinical applications.
Healthcare providers working with postpartum families play a crucial role in early care and intervention. Join us for a valuable live webinar, After Discharge: Maternal and Infant Assessment in the Home on Monday, September 9th from 9:00 AM to 2:15 PM to enhance your skills in providing home-based postpartum care.
On June 9th, Charlotte hosted the 7th annual Health Professions Education Institute (HPEI) Educator Conference, a dynamic event co-sponsored by Faculty Affairs and Medical Education. This year’s conference brought together faculty, staff, students, residents, fellows, physicians, and healthcare providers passionate about advancing teaching and training in the health professions - spanning medicine, nursing, physician assistant studies, graduate programs, and beyond.
Exploring the World of Healthcare Through Virtual Camp Med 2025
In an era where healthcare careers are more vital than ever, Virtual Camp Med 2025 emerges as a beacon of opportunity for high school students. This innovative program is designed not just to inform but to inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals. By providing a comprehensive overview of the healthcare sector, Virtual Camp Med equips students with the knowledge and insights needed to embark on a rewarding career path.
The virtual nature of the camp ensures accessibility for all, breaking down geographic and physical barriers that might have previously hindered participation. From June 1st, students can dive into an enriching learning environment from the comfort of their homes, gaining over 20 hours of programming dedicated to healthcare career exploration.
The Impact of Virtual Healthcare Camps on Career Decisions
The influence of early exposure to healthcare professions cannot be understated. Learning experiences like Camp Med play a pivotal role in shaping the career decisions of young minds. Through engaging and interactive content, students are introduced to a myriad of career paths within the healthcare sector.
This exposure is crucial in helping students navigate their future career choices, providing them with a clear understanding of what each path entails and the educational requirements needed to achieve their career goals. The structured programming of Virtual Camp Med ensures that participants leave with not only a broader perspective on healthcare careers but also with a newfound inspiration to pursue their interests.
Virtual Camp Med 2025: A Deep Dive into the Program's Unique Modules
Virtual Camp Med 2025 stands out due to its carefully curated modules, each designed to offer a unique perspective on the healthcare industry. The program includes:
- Module 1: My Career Choices - This module helps students assess their interests and align them with potential healthcare careers.
- Module 2: Explore the Health of your Region - Here, students learn about healthcare challenges and opportunities within their own communities.
- Module 3: Human Body Systems - A deep dive into the anatomy and physiology that underpin medical science.
- Module 4: Healthcare in Action - Students get a virtual front-row seat to the day-to-day workings of healthcare professionals.
- Module 5: Education Possibilities - This module outlines the educational pathways available for various healthcare careers.
These modules are designed for self-paced learning, allowing students to explore each area thoroughly and at their own convenience.
For high school students interested in exploring the dynamic world of healthcare, enrolling in Virtual Camp Med 2025 is a step towards unlocking a future filled with possibilities. Registration is now open, and the program is free, making it accessible to all who qualify.
To enroll, students simply need to visit the Northwest AHEC website and complete the registration process.
Virtual Camp Med 2025 is more than just a camp; it's a journey into the heart of healthcare, offering insights, inspiration, and invaluable connections. For high school students at the crossroads of their educational and career paths, it presents a unique opportunity to explore, engage, and envision a future in one of the most rewarding fields. Don't miss out on this chance to shape your future – register for Virtual Camp Med today and take the first step towards a fulfilling career in healthcare!
We would invite you to review the job postings, if have the experience needed - you would be a great addition to our team! The Northwest Area Health Education Center of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides and supports educational activities and services with a focus on primary care in rural communities and those with less access to resources to recruit, train and retain the workforce needed to create a healthy North Carolina.
Quality Improvement Specialist - Performs tasks key to the clinical transformation. Performs quality improvement efforts to improve quality of care, reduce cost of care, enhance patient experience of care and improve provider satisfaction. Responsible for designing a data-driven, strategic approach to continuous quality improvement (CQI) based on identification of gaps in care, perceived ability to measurably improve with resources available, potential to impact multiple settings/ease of replication or spread.
Read more and apply
We’re excited to announce that registration is now open for the highly anticipated Winston-Salem Dance Medicine Conference (WiSDM 2025)! Whether you’re a healthcare provider, dancer, instructor, or student, this one-day conference offers a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of the specialized field of dance medicine.
🗓 Friday, September 19, 2025 | 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
📍 Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education, 475 Vine St., Winston-Salem, NC
🎟 Live In-Person Only
👉 Click here to register and learn more
WiSDM 2025 brings together a diverse group of professionals and performers for a multidisciplinary deep dive into the fundamentals of dance medicine. Topics will include:
- Unique biomechanical demands of dance
- Genre-specific injury risks and prevention
- Psychological and social influences on performance
- Evidence-based approaches to care for dancers
When disaster strikes communities close to us, human service professionals often feel a familiar calling for a meaningful way to utilize their mental health skills in a challenging and rewarding manner that makes a real difference.
This training will prepare licensed mental health professionals for volunteer or paid roles in disaster response, contributing significantly to the psychological recovery of both disaster survivors and disaster workers. Having more mental health professionals trained and ready to respond in times of a disaster will be an invaluable asset to the people of our state, nation, and world.
Developed for licensed mental health professionals who are assumed to have a base of clinical knowledge, this training will give participants familiarity with characteristics, stages, and responses to disaster. Basic intervention strategies, including psychological first aid and empowerment of coping skills will be presented, along with the important topics of self-care and ethical issues in disaster response.
Orientation to Disaster Mental Health Intervention
Live Webinar / June 7, 2025 9 AM - 11 AM
Check out all the details and register now to reserve your spot.
Northwest AHEC is planning a knowledge-based 2025 Licensed Practical Nurse Symposium for October 10, 2025—and we want your input! This event will equip LPNs across various practice settings with strategies and insights to strengthen their vital role on the health care team.
Thank you, Nurses!
If you’re a nurse, we want to take a moment to say THANK YOU. We see your commitment, compassion, and resilience—and we appreciate everything you do to care for others, often in challenging circumstances.
National Nurses Week takes place May 6–12, 2025, and it's a time to honor the vital contributions of nurses. Whether you're a nurse, healthcare professional, patient, or someone who simply recognizes the critical role nurses play in our lives and communities, this is the perfect time to show your gratitude.
Northwest AHEC Appreciation Giveaway 🎉
As a token of our appreciation, sign up for our Nursing Continuing Education email list and you’ll be entered to win a Northwest AHEC Swag Bag filled with goodies!
Want an extra entry? Find our Nurses Week post on social media and share it!
📅 Winner will be announced Friday, May 9th.
How Northwest AHEC Supports Nurses
The Northwest Area Health Education Center (Northwest AHEC) of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides education and training to support a strong, skilled healthcare workforce—especially in rural and underserved communities across our 17-county region in Northwest North Carolina.
Whether you’re just exploring nursing as a career, actively practicing, or returning to the field, we’re here to support you at every step.
Here’s How We Empower Nurses:
- Continuing Professional Development – We offer high-quality programs—available in-person, via live webinars, or on-demand—for nurses seeking contact hour for license renewal. Many are low-cost or even free!
Featured Courses:- The High Risk Newborn: Sharing the Care – live webinar 5/14/25
- 2025 Aging Well Conference – Boone, NC 5/15/25
- Clinical Instructor Partner Course – blended learning begins 9/03/25
- After Discharge: Maternal and Infant Assessment in the Home – live webinar 9/9/25
- Iredell Health System 7th Cardiovascular Conference – Statesville, NC 9/17/25
- Basic Fetal Monitoring – Winston-Salem, NC 10/1/25
- 43rd Annual Perinatal Conference: Gravidas at Risk – Hickory, NC 11/5 and 11/6/25
- 27th Annual Diabetes Management Conference – Winston-Salem, NC 11/14/2025 Registration opening soon!
- Rural Health Nursing Conference – live webinar 11/14/25 Registration opening soon!
- 22nd Annual NC AHEC Academic Progression Conference 2/26/26 - Get $25 During Nurses Week!
- Nurturing the Nurturers – Winston-Salem, NC 3/20/26 Registration opening soon!
- Double Trouble: Diabetes and Falls – free online learning
- Screening and Intervening for Unmet Social Needs – free online learning
- Safe or Silent? – free online learning
- Falls: Screening, Risk Assessment and Care Planning for Older Patients in the Community – free online learning
- Nurse Educator Institute – online learning
- Sweet Success: A Deeper Look at Diabetes in Primary Care - two part online modules coming soon
- Health Careers/Workforce Development – We provide programs for high school and college students interested in exploring nursing and other health careers. Read More
- NC AHEC RN Refresher Program - Assists registered nurses with lapsed or inactive licenses, as well as active RNs seeking to update their knowledge and skills, in returning to the nursing profession. Read More
- Northwest AHEC Consortium for Clinical Education and Practice (CCEP) - We bring together clinical and educational partners to collaborate and improve clinical education opportunities for Nursing and Allied Health programs. Read More
To all nurses—we see you, we support you, and we thank you.
Let us know how Northwest AHEC can continue to empower you in your journey.
A Special Thank You to Our Northwest AHEC Nursing Staff
HUGE shoutout and THANK YOU to our brilliant nurses on staff here at Northwest AHEC. Your dedication, expertise, and passion make a difference—not just in our department, but across the entire region. We are so grateful for the work you do to support and strengthen the nursing profession.
- Stephanie Poindexter, MSN, RN – Nurse Educator
- Ellen Zimmerman, MSN, RN, CHSE – Nurse Educator / RN Refresher Coordinator
- Alana Dodson, MBA, RN – Nurse Educator
- Leslie D. McDowell, DNP, ANP-BC, RN – Quality Improvement Specialist / QI Curriculum Coordinator
Thank you for being leaders, mentors, and advocates. We appreciate you!
