Service While Learning

Community-based clinical training experiences focus on the primary needs of the medically underserved and help in building the future capacity of the students to deliver patient services to target populations. These clinical training rotations promote and assure the distribution of the health workforce in north Florida by providing training opportunities in rural and underserved communities for medical and physician assistant students. All health professions student training activities include patient care interactions and cultivate student interest in future practice in rural or medically underserved areas.

West Florida AHEC recruits preceptors from community health centers, rural hospitals and clinics, private physician offices, residency programs and military health care facilities that host clinical rotations for students.

For more information on how to become a preceptor, click here to contact Paige Arnup, Executive Director.

STUDENT ROTATIONS

Physician Assistant Student Rotations

West Florida AHEC has been a key partner working with the University of Florida School of Physician Assistant Studies for over 23 years to coordinate and facilitate rotations for second year UF physician assistant students. Four-week rotations in Family Medicine, Pediatrics, General Surgery, OB-GYN, Internal Medicine, ICU Medicine, Emergency Medicine and other elective areas are scheduled for selected students, five days per week and supervised by preceptors approved by the University of Florida School of Physician Assistant Studies and the University of Florida AHEC Program. West Florida AHEC arranges and maintains permanent housing for these physician assistant students to support their rotations experiences in our service area. This partnership results in approximately 40-60 rotations annually in the West Florida AHEC Service Area.

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First Year Medical Student Rotations

In partnership with the University of Florida AHEC Program Office,  West Florida AHEC participates and assists in an innovative course called the “Introduction to Clinical Practice” or the “Preceptorship.” During their first year of medical school at the University of Florida College of Medicine, medical students participate in didactic and small group activities to expand their knowledge and clinical skills and are then immersed in a community based practice setting for two weeks to practice those skills and participate as part of a healthcare team. West Florida AHEC has proudly been a partner in this course since 1994 after its inception into the curriculum at UF College of Medicine in 1992. The course has been very successful by exposing students to strong physician role models, demonstrating the relevance of basic science to the clinical practice of medicine, and providing a glimpse of the contemporary practice of medicine in a community setting.

doctors with stethescopes

Fourth Year Medical Student Rotations

In collaboration with the University of Florida AHEC Program Office and University of Florida College of Medicine, West Florida AHEC can help to facilitate an elective for 4th year medical students with an emphasis on rural primary care medicine. West Florida AHEC helps to identify qualified preceptors for the elective clerkship upon request.

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