AHECWW is working with partners across Washington to make it easier for healthcare students to map their academic pathway to healthcare and STEM certifications and degree programs.

There are a vast number of outreach programs through Washington striving to bring minorities who are underrepresented in the health care fields toward college level training in the health sciences.

Learn more about Directions to a Career in Health Care in Washington.

Are you a middle school, high school, undergraduate, or post-graduate student interested in becoming a health professional?

Are you a community member exploring new career opportunities in healthcare?

Do you identify as belonging to a group that has been recognized as underrepresented in the healthcare fields, including ethnic, racial, socioeconomically and geographically disadvantaged, or LGBTQ?

Visit The Northwest Health Career Path to find information on summer camps, shadowing opportunities, after school programs, workshops, internships, college access programs, and more! Pathway Programs help people “try on” roles and learn more about different career options and pathways to leadership positions. These programs can also help you build a resume and support your educational and career goals as you advance in your education. 

The resources page also provides a list of other great programs in the region to help you on your way to a career in healthcare. 

 

Summer is a great time to explore and gain experiential learning. Summer programs give hands-on interactions that highlight the rewards and excitement of many types of healthcare careers

The Summer Health Professions Education Program is a free summer program for students to explore their interests in medicine, dentistry, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, public health, and more. The program takes place at our 11 partner institutions and offers students a chance to develop competencies for becoming successful applicants to health profession programs, plan academic journeys, get clinical exposure, and network.

University of Washington SHPEP

HPEP is a free 6-week (2 weeks virtual 4 weeks in-person) summer enrichment program focused on improving access to information and resources for college students interested in the health professions. SHPEP’s goal is to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of students underrepresented in the health professions and prepare them for a successful application and matriculation to health professions schools.

SHPEP is implemented at 11 program sites across the nation. Each site provides scholars with academic enrichment in the basic sciences and math, career development activities, learning and study skills seminars, financial planning; wellness and a variety of hands-on activities. SHPEP at the University of Washington is a collaboration of the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Public Health.

University of Washington – Youth and Teen Program

UW Youth & Teen Programs offers engaging courses for students in grades four through 12 who want to keep learning year-round. Our programs reach more than 1,000 students each year on the UW campus and online. 

Visit the UW Youth and Teen website to learn more about summer offerings. 

Western Washington University College Quest

A true immersive college experience – from residence hall to classroom – gives high school students the chance to take a real college course, earn 1 university credit, gain valuable college success information, and form extraordinary social connections. Students who complete this program get an advantage as they plan for their academic future.

National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine & Health Care

At the National Student Leadership Conference on Medicine & Health Care, high school students develop the skills and knowledge for a future career in medicine with experiential simulations.  They perform clinical rounds, learn medical examination and surgical techniques, and participate in diagnosis and treatment while solving the mystery of a fatal outbreak of an illness sweeping the nation. Students grapple with controversial medical issues, learn about today’s health care challenges and explore advanced scientific research in areas such as cancer and HIV/AIDS.

This summer youth program has multiple locations.  Visit the website to learn more.

Providence High School Summer Program 

Students in the Summer Program carry out Providence’s mission of caring for the poor and vulnerable while increasing their awareness of the healthcare field as a potential career path. Students learn the principles of sound decision-making and problem-solving skills while receiving supportive coaching and mentoring from staff. The interactive experience in a hospital environment develops key communication skills in a diverse environment made up of patients, family members, visitors and staff from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds.

MultiCare Programs for High Schoolers 

MultiCare helps students interested in health care to clarify their career choices. The variety of programs includes nurse camp, Pharmacy, Imaging, Physical Therapy and more. Students gain experience and an understanding of the educational pathways to achieve the career of their dreams.

MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization that has been caring for Washington's communities for over a century. It’s the largest community-based, locally governed health system in the state and includes primary care, urgent care and specialty services.

COPE Health Scholars, Junior Health Scholar Program, Swedish Medical Centers

As a Junior Health Scholar, students observe how the patient care team works together to deliver excellent care and explore what it's really like to work in a healthcare career. 

Sound Careers in Healthcare is a career exploration event designed for high schoolers interested in entering the health professions. This event is a collaborative effort from many local Puget Sound healthcare organizations and academic partners. The 2023 Impact Report provides additional information, including a video highlight.

Explore Health Careers.org is a collaboration between today’s health professionals and
leading health care associations designed to help people like you start down the road
toward a career in health. On their website you will find the latest health career information and tools to guide you as you prepare for a future in health care.

Big Future is a service of the College Board to help connect students to college success and opportunity. The Big Future website provides general information about the college experience, including exploring educational programs, paying for college, career search tools, and finding colleges by program type.

Together with AHECs across the country and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a new interdisciplinary educational program has been launched: AHEC Scholars. AHEC Scholars focuses on training a diverse culturally competent healthcare workforce that specializes in serving rural and underserved communities.

Healthcare students apply to become AHEC Scholars and will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the two-year program. AHEC Scholars are competitively selected from applicants with priority given to students from disadvantaged backgrounds or racial/ethnic groups that are considered inadequately represented in health professions. Students from a variety of health profession degree or certificate programs comprise each cohort of Scholars.

During both years, students participate in didactic and clinical/experiential/community learning that augments their respective degree program requirements and prepares them to provide whole-person care serving rural and under-served communities.

Career Training and Career Planning

Work Source Washington provides a wealth of information about career training and programs to help you navigate career planning.

Credentialing for Healthcare Professions

Learn about credentialing requirements for various healthcare professionals from the Washington State Department of Health.

Resources for Veteran Students

The Veterans’ Resources page on the Allied Health Center of Excellence website provides information on employment initiatives for veterans, as well as resource links for veterans.

The National LGBT Health Education Center

The National LGBT Health Education Center provides educational programs, resources, and consultation to health care organizations with the goal of optimizing quality, cost-effective health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The Education Center is a part of The Fenway Institute, the research, training, and health policy division of Fenway Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center, and one of the world’s largest LGBT-focused health centers.

Mental Health First Aid

AHECWW offers Mental Health First Aid trainings for professionals and community members throughout western Washington. 

Rural Opioid Educational Resources

The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health has developed a compendium of all Rural Opioid Educational Resources available across their website to aid individuals looking for education, tools, and other resources. This includes reports, webinar presentations, meeting presentations, and a compendium of resources and lessons learned from grantees of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s Rural Opioid Overdose Reversal (ROOR) grant program. As new resources become available, more information will be added.

Below are some of the many programs that offer financial assistance for students in healthcare programs of study. Be sure to read the annual guidance and update: programs change and are dependent on legislative funding decisions. Visit the linked websites and sign up for updates to get announcements of new or changed programs.

Federal Student Aid 

Financial aid for students is available through a variety of sources at the federal and state level. For many scholarship programs, the first step is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application form. Review the detailed information on resources, planning, and completing the application on FAFSA website.

National Health Service Corps

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) supports more than 17,000 primary care medical, dental, and behavioral health providers through scholarships and loan repayment programs. For over 50 years, we’ve increased access to quality health care in communities with significant health professional shortages.

NHSC participants:

• Serve at more than 7,800 community health care sites seeing nearly 18 million patients.
• Provide care to patients regardless of their ability to pay for services.
• Include more than 7,900 behavioral health providers who increase access to much-needed mental health and opioid use disorder treatment in hard-hit areas of the country.

This NHSC video describes more about the NHSC scholarship, loan repayment, and Students to Service programs.

Students to Service Program

Are you a medical or dental student in your final year of school? The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (S2S LRP) provides up to $120,000 to medical (MD and DO) or dental (DDS or DMD) students in their final year of school in return for a commitment to provide primary health care full time for at least 3 years at an approved NHSC site in a Health Professional Shortage Area of greatest need. Learn more from the HRSA website.

Washington State Opportunity Scholarship

WSOS supports Scholars pursuing health care degrees from every corner and county of Washington state. A public-private partnership that believes innovative industries thrive when they reflect their own communities, WSOS works to create a college to career pipeline that provides opportunities for women and students of color.

Scholarship funds are flexible and can be used to cover tuition, fees and other costs of attendance such as housing, transportation, food and more. The Baccalaureate Scholarship application opens each year in December. The Community and Technical Scholarship application opens three times a year in April, September and January. More details on how to apply are at the waopportunityscholarship.org website.

Washington College Grant

This new grant makes education affordable for more families in Washington State. Award amounts vary based on income and grant funds can be used to cover full tuition at any in-state public college or university, including community or technical colleges, or provide a comparable amount toward tuition and other education-related costs at an approved private college or career training program. There is no separate application for the Washington College Grant. Students should complete a state or federal financial aid application.

Washington Scholarship Coalition website provides students can be matched to available scholarships specific to their situation. Assistance with financial aid application forms is also available.

Washington Health Corps gives financial support to health professionals through loan repayment and other supports. The health corps programs encourage licensed health professionals to provide primary care at approved sites in critical shortage areas. Washington Health Corps administers the state health program (SHP), the new behavioral health program (BHP), and the federal health program (FHP) (a federal grant–state match program).

AAMC Financial Planning for Healthcare Education

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) provides a full-service loans organizer and calculator available to medical students. The MedLoans Organizer and Calculator (MLOC) is also available for other students to use in managing education debt.

Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) Program. The SDS program increases the diversity of the health workforce by funding eligible academic institutions that are training health profession students. The institutions then make scholarships available to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have financial need. Students should contact their financial aid office. HRSA has $48,200,000 available to make approximately 79 awards in FY 2020. The application cycle closes on March 3, 2020. Technical Assistance webinars take place on the 6th and 20th of February.

Rural PREP

Rural Primary-care Research Education and Practice (Rural PREP) helps fund research to improve rural healthcare, offering support to encourage and promote research and scholarly activity in rural health professions education.

Other loan repayment options are listed here.