Teaching Health Center Education Network

The Not-For-Profit affiliate of the American Association of Teaching Health Centers

Our Story

Who We Are

THCEN is an educational and clinical learning consortium primarily made up of the founding Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education award recipients. The network was created in response to the need to form a dedicated national coalition to help address current and future needs of America’s Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education programs.

What We Do

We provide ongoing educational support and technical assistance for community-governed healthcare workforce development, with a specific focus on Graduate Medical Education residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Our mission is to inspire, support and help facilitate the creation of new community-based primary care residency programs where they’re needed most and to share best practices, promote excellence and provide a collaborative platform for existing programs at the national level.

Our Parent Organization

The American Association of Teaching Health Centers (AATHC) was founded in 2013 as the coordinating center for the Teaching Health Center (THC) movement. The AATHC supports and advances teaching health centers through networking, communications and educating medical professionals and the public. AATHC also engages in advocacy efforts to extend current THC funding and to establish a dedicated source for community-based primary care Graduate Medical Education funding. Learn more

What is a Teaching Health Center?

Teaching Health Centers are the solution to the crisis facing primary care in the United States. Across the nation, fewer and fewer medical school graduates are pursuing careers in primary care – just as many working primary care providers are planning to retire. Teaching Health Centers aim to ensure a viable primary care workforce for low-income communities by providing training at federally qualified health centers and similar sites. Research shows that residents who train in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are more likely to practice in medically underserved areas – and to feel more prepared to do so.

Teaching Health Centers receive federal funding to support their activities through HRSA’s Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, an initiative created by the Affordable Care Act to increase the number of primary care residents and dentists trained in community-based settings. According to HRSA, “the Teaching Health Center GME program is instrumental in increasing access to health care services for people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.” This funding source is essential for the continuation of many Teaching Health Centers programs.

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