Congratulations! You have chosen one of the most exciting careers available....the Healthcare professions. The staff here at Interior AHEC stand ready to help you with your education in any way that we can. A decision to take a healthcare job in Alaska can be one of the best career choices. Alaska is unique in many ways. Alaska has magnificent scenery, tremendous resources and encompasses a huge area. These bounties of nature are impressive but those of us that live here know that these very same benefits can also present some tremendous challenges in terms of remoteness from education centers and difficulties with transportation. AHEC centers around the nation were specifically created to tackle prolems like this in medically underserved (rural) areas and Alaska has plenty of that sort of country.
This part of the Interior AHEC website exists to help you.....the Clinical Rotations student...no matter what part of Alaska you live in or where you study. On the left side of this page are links to downloads and other sites that will be very helpful as you pursue your studies. If you are currently preparing for studies at the University of Alaska - Anchorage School of Nursing, the Allied Health program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks or any other University or College program in the state and you are aware of Clinical Rotations requirements (often referred to as Practicums) then you must begin preparing for those rotations now! There are many requirements that have to be met before you begin your rotations since the schools in Alaska must partner with healthcare facilities around the state that provide equipment, personnel and actual healthcare environments that are needed for practical instruction. Be smart and start preparing for these rotations early and find out what the facility will require you to do, in order to use those assets.
If you are a student or current healthcare professional that is taking courses using a Distant Delivery method of some sort (eg., the Internet) and you need to arrange clinical rotations at a healthcare facility, my best advice to you is 'Start Now!' The average amount of time needed today, just to arrange paperwork, is about five (5) months at some facilities. This is a very heavy burden for the student but the fact is, that risk managment requires many policy and legal practices that simply were not a necessity 30 years ago!
LINKS FOR CLINICAL ROTATION STUDENTS
o The Cross-Cultural material required for your Interior AHEC
Orientation can be found at the following Internet site:
http://nursing.uaa.alaska.edu/acrh/AHEC/default.htm
