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SEARCH - What is it?
SEARCH is an exciting new community health program available for students and residents. It is a partnership betweens UNMC’s Rural Health Education Network, Nebraska’s Area Health Education Centers, and the National Health Service Corps.
This program expands opportunities for participants to enhance their community involvement skills while also gaining valuable clinical training in underserved areas. The program places special emphasis on interdisciplinary training.
Benefits for Students and Residents
- Gain valuable experience in community health and building community relations.
- Participating in community service projects with other participants rotating in the area.
- Clinical training in culturally diverse, community-based systems of care.
- Gaining skills by working with qualified preceptors.
- Working with patients to enhance positive health decisions.
- Opportunities to enhance leadership and networking skills.
- Year-round opportunities for rotations in underserved areas.
- Support from established Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).
- Letter of community service support placed in academic file.
Community Experience
To help participants understand the role of health professionals as members of the community, they are required to participate in one (or more) community projects during their rotation. These projects should focus on the community by providing education, services, and/or information to individuals beyond those encountered during regular clinical work. The projects should have a broad impact.
Listed below are just a small number of suggestions for projects. The Nebraska SEARCH program provides great flexibility in this area and allows participants to be creative so that the project is interesting and enjoyable to them, as well as to their audience.
- Assist with Summer Health Careers Camps provided by the AHECs
- Present health career information to school groups/classes—K-12 and undergraduates
- Provide “Lunch and Learn” sessions with community groups – seniors, new parents, parents with special needs children, etc.
- Work with community to develop walking or biking trails
- Organize a Bicycle Rodeo and Helmet Safety day for kids in the community
- Provide educational sessions on topics such as advanced directives, Medicare pharmacy benefit; qualifying for Medicaid; accessing services in the community; etc.
- Assist with health fairs/health screenings
- Assist with community assessments to determine gaps in health coverage or other unmet needs.
- Make presentations at places like Geneva and Kearney Youth Rehabilitation and Training facilities; county juvenile detention centers, etc.
- Provide In-service training with daycare providers–working with children with special needs.
- Help organize or be a judge at Regional Science meets organized by the AHECs
- Plan and implement some type of community awareness/education event
- Develop a directory of health resources in area
Eligibility Criteria
The community health rotations are available to residents and health profession students who are in at least the first year of their professional training in the following areas:
- Dentistry and Dental Hygiene
- Medical Students (MD and DO)
- Medical Residents in the following programs:
- General Internal Medicine
- Family Practice
- General Pediatrics
- OB/GYN
- Psychiatry
- Physician Assistant (Family Practice)
- Psychology (PhD)
- Social Work (MSW)
- Pharmacy
- Nurse Practitioner in the following programs:
- General
- Family Practice
- Psychiatry
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Certified Nurse Midwives
Rotation Sites and Duration
If rotation sites are not arranged through the participant’s academic program, the SEARCH program will assist the participant in finding a suitable location. Rotations may last from two weeks to three months.
SEARCH Application Procedure
- Check with your preceptor if they allow you doing a SEARCH project during your rotation.
- Completely, fill out the online application form.
- Please, double-check to make sure that you have answered every question.
- Press submit. (The application will be received by Sonja Russell, russellsf@unmc.edu)
- Discuss rotation site, dates, possible preceptor, and community project with project director.
- Rotations must be in health professional shortage areas (HPSA). In 2008, almost the entire state of Nebraska has sites that qualify as HPSA’s
Program Funding
- Housing and meals, in most cases, are provided by the participating facilities and communities; arrangements will be made for transportation to the site.
- Pending Funds available: Funding is available for housing and meals on an as needed basis.
If you have any questions or would like more information regarding
the SEARCH Program please contact:
RHEN-AHEC Office
986660 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-6660
Phone: 402-559-9509 Fax: 402-559-5050
This program is funded by National Health Service Corps
Grant # HRSA-04-N230-5015mc | 
.jpg "Click here to go to the national NHSC - SEARCH site.")
