NEVER STANDING ALONE
Public Health Sustainability Scholars
Defend a program your community depends on
Public Health Sustainability Scholars spend one semester, in person, helping a public health program in their own community last through the next round of cuts. Scholars earn practicum credit through their own school and finish with a published Case in Health Equity under their name.
At a glance
Who can apply
AHEA student members in any health-related degree program
Length
One semester, in person, in your own community
Credit
Through your own school, as a practicum or Applied Practice Experience
Title
Public Health Sustainability Scholar, American Health Equity Association
What you leave with
A sustainability plan for the program and a published Case under your name
What Scholars do
Each Scholar partners with a public health program in their own community, such as a health department service, a clinic or a community organization.
1. Assess the program’s sustainability with its staff, using the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool.
2. Listen to the people it serves, so their experience shapes what comes next.
3. Build a sustainability plan with the program. The plan belongs to the program.
4. Make the program’s case in public, presenting its impact to a local board of health, county commission or community meeting.
5. Write a Case in Health Equity, published under your name after the program and AHEA review it.
If the program has already closed, you’ll document what was lost and outline what it would take to rebuild it, so its lessons stay on the record.
For programs that could host a Scholar
Hosting a Scholar costs nothing. Your program gets a sustainability plan that belongs to you and a stronger public case for your work, built with input from the people you serve. You review the Scholar’s Case before it’s published.
In return, you provide an on-site preceptor and day-to-day supervision for one semester. Health departments, clinics, community organizations and other programs that protect the public’s health can all host.
For faculty and schools
Scholars fits within the practicum and applied practice requirements many programs already have. Your school approves each project, assigns a faculty advisor and awards the credit. AHEA provides the framework and templates and reviews each student’s Case.
Students join AHEA as members, often through a group membership. Groups of 5 or more join at $75 per person per year, and for every 10 paid seats, your group gets one more seat free, usually for a faculty advisor.
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No. Scholars earn credit through their own school, and every project must be completed for credit. Check your program’s practicum requirements early, since approval can take time.
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No. Scholars work in person with a program in their own community, which is what makes the plan and the public case possible.
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Start with programs you already know, including your school’s community partners. Our host overview explains the ask in one page. If you’re still stuck, book a conversation.
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Scholars speak for themselves and, with permission, for their host program. They don’t speak for AHEA.