The North Carolina Annual STI Update was held on March 22, 2023, as fully remote for presenters and attendees for the third year in a row. Hosting it virtually allowed Northwest AHEC and partners to offer the longstanding and reputable continuing professional development activity to a larger audience.

The North Carolina Annual STI Update was held on March 23, 2022, as fully remote for presenters and attendees for the second year in a row. Hosting it virtually allowed Northwest AHEC and partners to offer the longstanding and reputable continuing professional development activity safely during the ongoing pandemic. The event is also provided at no cost to attendees thanks to the partners involved.

Wake Forest School of Medicine and Northwest Area Health Education Center (NWAHEC) is gearing up for another fun and informative virtual Camp Med this summer. Last year’s camp hosted more than 900 participants from North Carolina and beyond. This year the self-paced camp will once again be available to students in grades eight through 12 from June 1 through July 31. 

Northwest Area Health Education Center (NWAHEC) is gearing up for another fun and informative virtual Camp Med this summer. Last year’s camp hosted 900+ participants from North Carolina and beyond our state line. This year our self-paced camp will be available again to students, grade 8-12, from June 1 through July 31.

The Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE) was held online on April 27-29, Andrew L. Brewer, MS, Instructional Technologist for Northwest Area Health Education Center (NWAHEC), presented Pandemic Pivot: Shift from Classroom to Virtual. Andrew also hosted a roundtable discussion session on the future of online learning and development. 

TICE was attended by training professionals from all over the world. For the first time in the history of this long running program it was available online everywhere due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the topic of virtual learning was especially timely. 

With the experience of NWAHEC’s shift to online delivery, Andrew was able to use a case study to share the methodologies and lessons learned as NWAHEC tackled the challenges presented by the sudden necessity of virtual learning. 

Almost a year into the pandemic we’ve transitioned most of our teaching and learning into completely virtual activities. By now most of us have participated in some live online activity by connecting with others via technology services such as ZOOM or Webex. For the most part, this modality seems to be delivering effective instruction in an accessible and convenient way, and literally meeting learners where they are via broadband Internet.

Mapping the customer journey is an important strategic exercise most businesses do at some point. Our customers, or Learners as we in the AHEC say, have a motivation or desire to learn more to stay current, comply with licensure requirements, and be an active lifelong learner. I’d like to share what goes into our workflow when we think of our learners through their journey in continuing professional development with Northwest AHEC.

Earlier this week I attended a very informative masterclass on Learner Engagement in live instructor trainings (LIT) given by Training Industry Magazine. The lessons apply even more for virtual live instructor trainings (VLIT) as well which is how most of us have been participating in any kind of training and development programs since March 2020. Below are the highlights that I would like to share with you.