‘Where I am meant to be’ — PA student named AHEC Scholar

By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

Growing up translating for her parents, Dulce Sanchez-Tunks saw firsthand how language and financial barriers can affect a person’s experience with healthcare.

Those experiences are helping to shape her goal of becoming a physician assistant and ensuring patients from underserved communities receive compassionate, accessible care.

Now, as a student in the College of Health Sciences Physician Assistant Studies program, Sanchez-Tunks is taking another step toward that goal after being named an AHEC Scholar.

“Language and financial barriers make healthcare feel transactional rather than compassionate,” said Sanchez-Tunks, 25, a native of Glasgow, Ky. “Witnessing the empathy and patient-centered care of PAs inspired me to serve as a bridge for underserved, non-English-speaking communities, ensuring every patient receives accessible, high-quality care.”

The Kentucky AHEC Scholars Program is a two-year educational opportunity that supplements students’ classroom instruction with additional training and experiences focused on rural and underserved healthcare. The program brings together students from different health professions to strengthen their ability to collaborate and provide comprehensive, team-based care.

Supported nationally through the Health Resources and Services Administration, the program includes 40 hours of experiential training and 40 hours of didactic education each year in rural or underserved areas of Kentucky.

Participants explore topics such as interprofessional education, behavioral health integration, social determinants of health, cultural competency and emerging healthcare issues.

For Sanchez-Tunks, the program aligns closely with both her past experiences and her plans for the future.

Before beginning her physician assistant education at UK, she spent her gap years serving underrepresented communities, including working as a lead mental health associate at an inpatient psychiatric hospital.

Those experiences reinforced her interest in serving patients who face barriers to accessing care and strengthened her desire to practice in a rural or underserved community.

“I strive to be a lifelong learner who values collaboration in healthcare while working in a Health Professional Shortage Area,” she said. “I carry each characteristic, from my life experiences to the UKPA program.”

Sanchez-Tunks, who is part of the Physician Assistant Studies Class of 2028, learned about the AHEC Scholars Program through an announcement shared by faculty members. She said the opportunity immediately stood out because of its emphasis on serving communities like those she hopes to support throughout her career.

Through the program, she will have opportunities to build relationships with students from other health professions, develop interprofessional communication skills and gain additional exposure to rural medicine.

She believes those experiences will help her become a more well-rounded physician assistant and better prepare her to work alongside other healthcare professionals to meet patients’ needs.

“The AHEC Scholars Program is allowing students to gain interprofessional communication skills and connections with other students,” Sanchez-Tunks said. “On top of that, it provides supplemental didactic and clinical experiences focused on rural medicine. This is a region I am specifically wanting to practice in as a physician assistant.”

Her commitment to underserved communities also reflects what drew her to UK and its College of Health Sciences.

Sanchez-Tunks said the Physician Assistant Studies program’s mission and values aligned with her own, making UK a natural fit for her professional goals. Throughout the program, she has found faculty members who support students while challenging them to grow academically and professionally.

“There is no doubt in my mind that UKPA is where I am meant to be,” she said. “The professors advocate for their students; they encourage and challenge our knowledge in a fulfilling way. I met some of my best friends through this program and have felt supported throughout the entire program.”
 

BY THE WAY: This is the 30th anniversary of the PA presence in Morehead, and we'll be celebrating from 5:30-8 p.m., Friday in the CHER Building Ballroom, at 316 W. Second St. in Morehead. Interested? Respond through the event invitation