The AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETC) Program of the Ryan White CARE Act currently supports a network of 12 regional and 4 national support centers that conduct targeted, multi-disciplinary education and training programs for health care providers treating persons with HIV/AIDS. The AETC’s serve all 50 States, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the six U.S. Pacific Jurisdictions. Our mission is to increase the number of health care providers who are effectively educated and motivated to counsel, diagnose, treat, and medically manage individuals with HIV infection and to help prevent high risk behaviors that lead to HIV transmission.

Training is preferentially targeted to providers who serve minority populations, the homeless, rural communities, incarcerated persons, and Ryan White CARE Act-funded sites. AETC’s focus on training clinicians in primary health care (physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, dentists, and pharmacists). Education and training activities are based upon assessed local needs. Emphasis is placed on clinical training and clinical consultation to assist providers with complex issues related to the management of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

AETC’s collaborate with other Ryan White CARE Act-funded organizations, area health education centers, community-based HIV/AIDS organizations, and medical and health professional organizations. Since 1988, the AETC program has sponsored more than 700,000 training interactions for providers. Clinicians trained by AETC’s have been shown to be more competent with regard to HIV issues and more willing to treat persons living with HIV than other primary care providers.

Several national, cross-cutting components of the AETC program support and complement the regional training centers:

The National Minority AIDS Education and Training Center

In 1999, the National Minority AIDS Education and Training Center (NMAETC) was established with funding from the Congressional Black Caucus Initiative to benefit minorities who are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. The NMAETC works with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic serving educational institutions, tribal colleges and educational institutions, and minority community based organizations. The NMAETC offers clinical consultation and support to minority providers, builds networks among these clinicians, and expands educational resources to increase the number of minority clinicians providing quality care to HIV-positive individuals.

The National AETC Resource Center

The National AETC Resource Center is a web-based HIV/AIDS training resource that supports the training needs of the regional AETC’s. The Resource Center coordinates HIV/AIDS training materials, rapid dissemination of late-breaking advances in treatment and changes to treatment guidelines, and critical review of available patient education materials.

The National AETC Evaluation Center

The National Evaluation Center documents the training efforts of the AETC’s. The Center is responsible for program evaluation activities, including assessing effectiveness of the AETC’s education, training, and consultation activities. The Evaluation Center provides data and evaluation support for the regional and national AETC’s. The Center also supports outcome evaluation studies that have a national focus.

The National HIV/AIDS Clinicians’ Consultation Center
The National HIV/AIDS Clinicians' Consultation Center provides health care providers with a national resource to obtain timely and appropriate responses for clinical questions related to treatment of persons with HIV infection and/or possible health care worker exposure to HIV and other blood-borne pathogens.

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