During the 1990's, the NC AHEC Rural Primary Care Initiative received funding from the NC General Assembly to support rural primary care, community-based education. As a result, an Office of Regional Primary Care Education (ORPCE) was created at each of the nine AHECs to facilitate the teaching of primary care students in community settings.

Facilitating quality, community-based education for all health science students is the responsibility of each AHEC. The ORPCEs are but one component of the AHEC system. Currently the AHEC ORPCEs facilitate the teaching of medical, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, certified midwifery and UNC-CH PharmD students in approximately 1,170 community sites and with more than 1,900 individual preceptors across the state.

At Eastern AHEC the ORPCE supports preceptors by offering preceptor development, implementing payment protocols for eligible preceptor sites and linking preceptors to AHEC information and technology resources. Student resources include housing and assistance with logistics. ORPCE works with the health science schools to identify and recruit community-based preceptor sites and coordinate placement of students in these sites.

Preceptors

Students

Primary Care Placement Form

Contact Us:

For further information or assistance, contact our department at 252.744.3082.

Stephen Willis, MD, Executive Director
Debbie Ramey, MAEd, Deputy Director, Director-ORPCE
Mary Esther Sabados, ORPCE Assistant