South Carolina AHEC

Program Areas

Health Careers
Program

Provides support to diverse high school and early college students on their paths to becoming healthcare professionals, building a future healthcare workforce that will reflect the diverse range of communities it serves in South Carolina.

Health Professions Student Program

Provides opportunities for students to work and learn in rural and underserved communities in South Carolina by gaining real-world experience in patient care settings. These experiences increase the likelihood students will choose to practice in communities in need of healthcare services.

Graduate Medical
Education

Supports high-quality family medicine residency training in the state. We work collaboratively with the family medicine residency programs to recruit and retain family physicians.

Recruitment & Retention Program

Provides financial incentive programs for clinicians who practice in rural and underserved communities to address the maldistribution of healthcare providers in South Carolina. SC AHEC has administered the state’s recruitment and retention programs through initiatives that have been ongoing and evolving for more than 40 years.

Continuing Professional Development

Identifies the educational needs of healthcare professionals and provides education programs designed to enhance clinical skills, address ongoing and emerging health trends, and help professionals maintain their licensure and certifications. Programs are delivered through traditional methods and innovative technologies.

SC Office for Healthcare Workforce

Studies issues that affect the balance of supply and demand for different types of healthcare professionals across South Carolina. SCOHW develops accurate, reliable information about the healthcare workforce in South Carolina and to make that information widely available to support planning and policy decisions.

South Carolina AHEC Programming Last Year

10,707
Total individuals served throughout the state across all AHEC programs
136,116
Total contact hours of programming delivered statewide

What We Do

We connect students and professionals with the tools, training and resources necessary to develop an effective healthcare workforce to provide quality healthcare, with a focus on primary care for rural and underserved communities. We provide education, recruitment, and retention programs to build and support the healthcare workforce South Carolina needs.

Learn More about SC AHEC
SC AHEC programs support all points along the health professions pipeline

Why It Matters

South Carolina AHEC supports all points along the health professions pathway to increase the diversity and broaden the distribution of the healthcare workforce, improve healthcare quality, and enhance delivery of healthcare to rural and underserved areas. Our programs:

  • Connect students to health careers
  • Connect healthcare professionals to the communities that need them
  • Connect communities to better health through access to healthcare
  • Connect South Carolina to better health overall
Participants in AHEC programming from high school students all the way to practicing professionals

Our Regional Centers

Lowcountry AHEC
Mid-Carolina AHEC
Pee Dee AHEC
Upstate AHEC

Statewide Continuing Professional Development Calendar