It is a pleasure for me to extend a warm
welcome on behalf of our Internal Medicine Residency Training Program at the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. As Program Director it is my
responsibility to ensure that each resident builds his or her set of clinical
skills and knowledge upon a foundation of professionalism and a commitment to
life-long learning.
The primary goal of our program is
to provide comprehensive clinical training so that our graduating residents are
fully equipped to pursue whatever career path they desire after residency. A
resident in our program receives a rigorous, first-rate clinical experience
which centers upon a diverse population of patients at the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences Hospital and at the Central Arkansas Veterans
Health Care System. Our residents are doctors for a wide spectrum of patients,
including those who are referred for subspecialty care, those who live
locally and come to us with common diseases, and those who have served our
country in the armed forces.
A secondary goal of our program is
to provide our residents with research experience; each resident is offered the
opportunity to participate in cutting-edge scientific research. There is
sufficient flexibility built into each resident’s schedule to accommodate blocks
of research time. Most residents who choose to participate in research go on to
fellowship training in one of the medicine subspecialties after residency. Our
graduating residents boast an excellent record of matching into highly
competitive fellowship positions.
In our program, there is an
overarching emphasis on curriculum-driven resident education, so that I
sincerely view our residents as learners rather than workers. Our Chairman, Dr.
James Marsh, not only enthusiastically encourages his faculty
to participate in
education, but also generously rewards them for doing so. Consequently, the
attending physicians with whom our residents have most contact, are those who truly possess
the desire and the time to teach in the clinic or on the wards. Key clinical
faculty are accessible and readily approachable.
Like the city of Little Rock, our
program is of intermediate size. This feature, when combined with a system that
stresses teamwork, fosters a true spirit of collegiality resonating among
our residents and faculty. In fact, when I arrived at the
University of Arkansas
for Medical Sciences in 1996, I found that the most striking aspect of the
training program was the camaraderie that existed amongst the residents. This is
still true today.
I received my M.D. degree from
the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston; my training continued at
the University of Alabama at Birmingham where I spent a total of 7 years as a
resident, a chief resident, and an infectious diseases fellow. Since joining the
faculty at UAMS, I have had the honor of being heavily involved with the
education of our students, residents, and fellows. In 2002 I became Associate
Program Director, a position I held until Dr. Robert Bradsher handed me the reigns
of directorship in November 2007.
If you are interested in a career
in general internal medicine or in one of the medicine subspecialties, I
encourage you to look at our program. I am confident that the training in
internal medicine which we provide for our residents is second to none.
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Contact Information
UAMS Internal Medicine
Residency Office
4301 West Markham, Slot 634
Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: 501-686-5162
Fax: 501-686-6001
E-Mail:
imresident@uams.edu