VA HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION WEEK 2023

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Chicago, IL — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) celebrates VA Health Professions Education Week (VA HPE Week) 2023, recognizing the contributions of VA faculty and academic partners to VA’s academic mission training more than 113,000 future health professionals each year to provide state-of-the-art health care to our nation’s Veterans.

VA’s health professions education programs enhance the quality of and timely access to care provided to Veterans at the VA. Overseen by the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA), health professions trainees (HPTs) participate in over 7,000 wide-ranging training programs offered at 150 VA healthcare facilities, making VA the nation’s largest provider of health professions training. Health professions education in VA is conducted through long-standing partnerships with 1,400 U.S. academic institutions, including 99% of the nation’s medical schools.

Academic affiliations play a vital role in meeting Veteran health care. VA began partnering with the University of Illinois College of Medicine and Northwestern School of Medicine in 1946. Jesse Brown VAMC trains approximately [1,700] HPTs every year in a variety of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, podiatry, and psychology.

“Jesse Brown VA Medical Center is proud to celebrate HPE Week. We want to take the opportunity to recognize and thank our dedicated health professions trainees, educators, our academic affiliates and most of all, our Veterans who actively engage in VA’s training mission,” said JBVAMC Director Mr. Ament. “Our trainees and students often tell us the greatest reward of training at VA is serving Veterans.”

Offering training in more than 60 clinical disciplines, VA educates physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, physical and occupational therapists in the latest evidence-based medicine. Over 15,000 of VA’s HPTs come from Minority Serving Institutions, such as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). HPTs support VA’s ability to deliver and sustain high-quality patient care to Veterans.

“OAA is honored to highlight the invaluable contributions our health professions trainees make every day in providing care to our Veterans,” said Marjorie Bowman, MD, MPA, Chief Academic Affiliations Officer. “VA is fortunate to have more than 1,400 academic affiliates who share our theme: passion to learn, power to heal. The academic affiliation partnership model is vital to training future health professionals who care for our Veterans and the Nation.”

Learn more about VA’s Health Professions Education Week and VA’s health professions training programs by visiting the OAA website or by watching this brief introductory video.