WVRHEP/AHEC Curriculum
The rural health curriculum is based on degree-required rural rotations in each of the participating schools’ curricula and contains objectives for discipline-specific clinical and community-based service learning.
Rotation locations
These rotations must take place in:
- designated rural health training sites or
- sites that specifically work with underserved populations (such as Health Right and Clinics)
Rural rotations cannot take place in the following “restricted” cities:
- Charleston (including South Charleston, Dunbar, Nitro, Institute, Cross Lanes, Kanawha City, and St. Albans)
- Clarksburg (including Bridgeport and Nutter Fort)
- Fairmont
- Huntington (including Barboursville)
- Martinsburg
- Morgantown (including Little Falls, Sabraton, Star City, and Westover)
- Parkersburg (including Vienna)
- Wheeling
- Ridgeley is also restricted. It is across the river from Cumberland, MD, just across the WV line, and is considered part of the city.
Facets of the Curriculum
The percentages of the curriculum devoted to clinical objectives and community-based service learning were established by the WV Rural Health Advisory Panel after substantial input and discussion among the various Schools’ coordinators and their curriculum committees, research by the Panel’s School Committee, and debate among the campus and community partners of the partnership.
- Students spend 80% of their time meeting their clinical objectives
- 20% of their time in community service learning consisting of one or a combination of the following:
- community service learning projects
- interdisciplinary educational experiences
- community based research
Students may develop their own project or select from a number of on going projects in the geographic region in which they are placed.
The AHEC Interdisciplinary teams consist of at least one medical resident, who serves as the team leader, and a team of RHEP students from other disciplines. This Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) chooses one project that all learners work on together.
IDT projects address public health issues in the region and students are required to develop written goals, objectives, and strategies as well as a final report.
All students completing the community service-learning portion of the curriculum are required to develop a written reflective report consistent with their learning objectives for the experience.
WVU SOM Curriculum Requirements of the West Virginia Rural Health Partnership