The College of Medicine (COM) has made great strides in the past 10 to 15 years is now ranked among the top medical schools in the United States, based on research funding, education and patient care. Our Five-Year Vision Plan allows us to focus our energy on definitive goals that will help to ensure that we not only maintain this level of excellence, but continue to experience growth, prosperity and success as an institution. We take pride in being a patient-centered institution and firmly believe that it is our obligation to keep the patients’ best interests above all else. Our accomplishments in clinical care have earned us national recognition, including high rankings in the U.S. News and World Report. We continually work to enhance the quality, depth and breadth of our clinical programs.  Certainly, as we grow in so many new and exciting directions, the COM remains mindful of the need to increase the endowed and non-endowed funds used to support clinical, educational and research developments. These funds, frequently provided through the generosity of our community and friends, are crucial to our mission… “In Relentless Pursuit of Excellence, Every Day.” Funding opportunities within the College of Medicine include but are not limited to the following:

1.         Endowed chairs
            UAMS is committed to attracting and retaining the brightest doctors and scientists.  In mentoring students and resident physicians, our faculty and our students become lifelong learners.  As quickly as medicine changes, this concept is of critical importance.  In order to attract and retain the best and brightest, endowed chairs are needed in both basic and clinical departments.  An endowed chair is the highest honor a university can bestow on its faculty; it secures a pool of resources that can be used by the chair holder to further her/his work.  These endowments help advance world-class clinical and research programs.  An endowment can be established in honor of or in memory of a family member, favorite professor or other individual.  By investing in these types of endowments, we will ensure that our visionary scientists and doctors have the resources they need to develop novel technologies and new medicines.

2.         Endowed scholarships
            Our core mission to teach the next generation of physicians- not only to be excellent doctors, but also to be compassionate, selfless and excellent communicators- has never been so vital.  Arkansas’ and the nation’s health care needs are growing rapidly as the population ages, and obesity and other negative health factors abound.  The existing physician workforce also is aging, and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has called for substantial increases in medical school enrollment which will also require substantial increases in resident physician training.  The College of Medicine is taking many proactive steps to meet the challenge.  To that end, we seek philanthropic support for endowed scholarships.  To keep the best and brightest of Arkansas’ medical school applicants here in Arkansas, substantial scholarships or at least $10,000 per year would provide much needed leverage, helping us favorably compete with out –of-state schools that attract Arkansas students with lucrative scholarship offerings.  Our scholarships would be based on both need and merit.

3.         Clinical Simulation Center 
            We seek a world-class Clinical Simulation Center.  Simulators help medical students and residents understand the interrelated systems of the human body and allow them to practice new clinical skills.  Students, residents and other health care providers can train on life-like manikins to learn technical skills and how to manage complex medical situations before they are confronted with them for the first time in a live human being.  A fully developed, centralized Center is vital to the continued success of our educational programs and will be required for maintenance of accreditation of all medical schools by 2010.  The Center will complement the outstanding training provided by our existing Center for Clinical Skills Education.

4.         Center for Distance Health
            Where we live should not determine whether we live or die.  That idea embodies the Center for Distance Health’s mission to practice telemedicine in rural Arkansas.  Through the center, we can use teleconferencing technology to deliver medical care across the state, nation and even the world.  The College’s ANGELS program is recognized as a national leader in using innovative technology to provide highly specialized, expert care for women with high-risk pregnancies from across Arkansas.  The center for Distance Health is an outgrowth of the ANGELS program.  The Center is working with rural Arkansas health care providers to create greater access to subspecialty care for their communities.  Gifts to the Center will revolutionize local health care using technology to bring many new disciplines of subspecialty expertise into the rural communities.

5.         Endowed Research Funds
            Today, literally hundreds of research projects are under way in the College of Medicine- both clinical and basic science research crossing all disciplines.  The endowment for research will empower the human capital that will propel our research enterprise forward in great transforming strides.  To ensure success, the College must acquire and invest private funds that lay the groundwork for federal grants.  Private donations create a ‘snowball’ effect that builds momentum- attracting funding, inspiring more gifts which, in turn, lead to more discovery.