In its ongoing effort to offer educational opportunities for physicians throughout the state, UAMS will present the Dean’s Inaugural CME Conference Friday, Oct. 25, at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock. The event will consist of seven hours of continuing medical education (CME), followed by cocktails and dinner.

"We have assembled several of UAMS’ distinguished clinicians and researchers to make presentations on a variety of issues impacting the medical community," said Charles W. Smith, M.D., the executive associate dean for clinical affairs in the UAMS College of Medicine and the medical director of UAMS Medical Center. "By updating their existing medical knowledge, as well as providing them with new information, we strive to help physicians better understand, recognize and treat some of the common medical conditions that they encounter in their practices."

The Dean’s Inaugural CME Conference is a first-time event that coincides with the arrival of E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., as the new dean of the UAMS College of Medicine. He also serves as a vice chancellor and a professor at UAMS and an obstetrician/gynecologist who subspecializes in maternal-fetal medicine at UAMS Medical Center. Reece is internationally recognized as an expert in diabetes and prenatal diagnosis and therapy.

In addition to his medical degree, Reece holds a doctorate in biochemistry and a master’s degree in business administration. From 1982 to 1990, he served on the Yale University School of Medicine faculty in New Haven, Conn. Immediately prior to joining UAMS in January 2002, Reece was the Abraham Roth Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences in the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia and the director of that department’s Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

At the Dean’s Inaugural CME Conference, Reece will welcome attendees and make the day’s firä6 presentation, "OB Complications." The following are the other scheduled topics and speakers — all of whom are faculty members within various departments in the UAMS College of Medicine:

• "Bioterrorism" by Terry Yamauchi, M.D., the vice chairman for governmental relations in the Department of Pediatrics and a professor in the department’s Pediatric Infectious Diseases Section. He is also affiliated with Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

• "Vascular Disease in the Primary Care Setting" by John F. Eidt, M.D., a professor and the chief of the Vascular Surgery Division in the Department of Surgery and a professor in the Department of Radiology.

• "Managing the Diabetic Patient" by Debra L. Simmons, M.D., an assistant professor in the Endocrinology Division of the Department of Internal Medicine and the director of the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Training Program. She is also affiliated with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

• "Understanding EMTALA Transfer Requirements" by Gregory S. Hall, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. (EMTALA is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.)

• "Comprehensive Assessment of the Geriatric Patient" by David A. Lipschitz, M.D., Ph.D., the Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Geriatrics, the chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics and the director of the Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging at UAMS. He is also affiliated with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

• "Hypertension and the Kidneys" by Thomas E. Andreoli, M.D., a professor and the chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine, the Nolan Chair in Internal Medicine, and a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.

• "ACRC: Helping You Treat Your Cancer Patients" by James Y. Suen, M.D., a professor and the chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and the director of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center at UAMS.

The registration fee for attending the Dean’s Inaugural CME Conference is $25 per medical resident, $50 per UAMS Associate Staff member, and $100 per non-UAMS or non-VA professional. This fee includes educational materials, access to special exhibits, continental breakfast, lunch, cocktails and dinner. To obtain a registration form and/or additional information about the conference, call the Office of Physician Marketing and Referral Services at 501-686-7934 or 501- 686-8206.