Using the AHEC Scholars Program to Enhance Health Professions Learners’ Self-Efficacy for Practice Transformation

Abstract

The Indiana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Scholars program is a two-year leadership program designed to supplement health professions student's academic training and enhance practice readiness around six core topic areas including practice transformation. The study was a retrospective cohort study assessing learners' report level of self-efficacy on a set of six competencies around practice transformation and quality improvement. A total of 68 students graduating in the first cohort responded to the competency questions. AHEC scholars reported a significantly increase in self-efficacy on the competencies "identify issues emerging healthcare delivery such as accountable care organizations, medical homes, and health insurance exchanges", "understand how to practice effectively within the organization and culture of the interprofessional team, practice setting, and local healthcare system", and "use an electronic health record to retrieve relevant information and to document care". We found that learners reported a significant increase in self-efficacy related to implementing practiced transformation.