In preparation for the North Carolina Area Health Education (NC AHEC) 50th Anniversary Celebration (1972-2022) we have been searching for impactful stories that have occurred within the Northwest AHEC region. Check out what we uncovered on these recent blog posts and full interviews on the Healthcare Insights Podcast. 

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.

Some of the potential next generation of doctors and health professionals recently got a chance to experience their industry hands-on. Eighteen local high school students interested in becoming registered nurses, physicians, occupational therapists, or any number of occupations in the medical profession participated in Camp Med 2022 Summer Program provided by Northern Regional and the Northwest Area Health Education Center, an initiative of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. The camp took place on July 18-22.

Register now for this event coming up next week! While our society has become increasingly diverse across a myriad of metrics, the body of empirical research that discusses evidence-based approaches to incorporating issues of diversity into assessment, treatment, and service delivery has lagged behind. Additionally, the direct and indirect effects of the pandemic years have heightened systems disparities that have exacerbated mental health needs.

The 2022 Because We Care workshop will focus on the impact self-care has on how health care professionals interact with patients, families and colleagues. We will also discuss various ways to support families after the loss of a pregnancy/baby/child.

Join us on September 17, 2022 for this conference! Live in-person at Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education!

This two-hour live webinar will focus on the importance of preventing alcohol-exposed pregnancies, and how fetal alcohol spectrum disorders may present across the lifespan. 

Recorded sessions  are available online from STI Update earlier this year! Stay up-to-date on information on prevention, management and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Join us for this exciting event on September 30th In-Person at Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education. Registration is now open, sign up to join us!

High school students interested in becoming registered nurses, physicians, occupational therapists or any number of occupations in the medical profession participated in Camp Med 2022 Summer Program provided by Caldwell UNC Health Care and the Northwest Area Health Education Center, an initiative of the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

“Camp Med is a great opportunity to expose students to the world of possibilities in health careers,” said Superintendent Dr. Don Phipps. “We want our students to apply these experiences to their education whenever they make decisions about course selection, club participation or community involvement so they will be better prepared for reaching their career goals after high school graduation.”

The program provided a range of unique educational experiences in the healthcare workforce, from meeting practitioners to observing state-of-the-art technology to touring healthcare facilities and learning about the services provided to patients. Participants also explored different medical career pathways, including pharmacy, surgical services, diabetic health, anesthesiology, diagnostic imaging and behavioral health.

Highlights of the program involved clinical rounds and observing medical procedures. "I really liked getting to experience what surgeons and anesthesiologists do,” said Emilee Bradley, a sophomore at Hibriten High School “I loved seeing gall bladder surgery performed. It was exciting! I especially liked scrubbing in and wearing scrubs in the operating room like an actual medical professional."

As a culminating event, a graduation ceremony was held and students received certificates of completion. Each student spoke on how the program affected or influenced his or her future career decisions.

Only rising freshmen, sophomores or juniors meeting specific academic performance in addition to having career goals in health sciences were selected to participate in the weeklong summer camp, which has been offered to Caldwell County Schools students for more than a decade.

Christina Good, Human Resource executive for Caldwell UNC Healthcare, led Camp Med ’22 in Caldwell County and overall, 18 camps were held this summer in North Carolina.