South Carolina AHEC News & Updates

Dr. Stoney Abercrombie, Director of Medical Education at AnMed Health, has been selected to chair the national, 11-member Society for the Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Task Force on Faculty for Tomorrow. This two-year task force (May 2015 through June 2017) will develop curriculum and programs for residents who desire to be faculty as well as practicing family physicians, especially those who may be contemplating teaching at a residency program. There have been over 25 new family medicines residencies established in the past couple years. There is a critical shortage of family medicine faculty nationally and this task force will address the issue of recruitment and retention of family medicine faculty. For more information on the task force, please visit http://www.stfm.org/NewsJournals/STFMNews/News/May152015.

South Carolina AHEC System staff members, Lowcountry AHEC board members and members of the Walterboro and Colleton County communities gathered on May 20 for Lowcountry AHEC's ribbon cutting and open house. The new building is 5,300 square feet and the building includes: a 1,000 square foot classroom/training center, 300 square foot conference room and over 80 parking spaces. Both training/meeting rooms have up-to-date technology including videoconferencing capabilities. The new Lowcountry AHEC office is conveniently located in Walterboro, the center of the twelve county service area. The ten staff members are enjoying their new space.  Congratulations to Lowcountry AHEC onthe new building that will further the work they are doing in their counties and communities.

A recent study of the nursing workforce in South Carolina hospitals shows that the labor market for registered nurses (RNs) is tightening up. Chief nursing officers in South Carolina acute-care hospitals were asked to assess the local labor market for nursing personnel in their area and to describe how their nursing workforce needs are changing. Eighty percent of eligible hospitals responded to the survey. Like most employers, hospitals would prefer to hire experienced employees, but 88 percent of hospitals report that finding experienced RNs is becoming difficult.   Hospitals have also been hiring new RN graduates – 23 percent expect that new graduate hiring will be greater this year than last. When asked about specific types of nursing personnel, most hospitals said that recruitment was no more difficult this year than last. However, 47 percent of hospitals that utilize clinical nurse specialists said they were becoming more difficult to find; 38 percent of hospitals said st

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In order to better serve our customers, AHEC U is changing service providers.  Beginning May 27, please visit the new web address ( ahecu.ethinkeducation.com ) to access the log in page. User IDs and passwords for existing participants will continue to allow access to AHEC U. Remember to bookmark the new address. Thank you for your patience as we transition to a new system that will better serve your needs. If you have any issues or questions accessing the new system, please call Upstate AHEC at 864-349-1160.