LITTLE ROCK – Kathy Rye, Ed.D., a faculty member in the respiratory care program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), recently received the Specialty Practitioner of the Year Award from the Education Section of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC).

Rye, a registered respiratory therapist, is the director of clinical education and an associate professor in the Department of Respiratory Care and Surgical Technologies of the UAMS College of Health Related Professions. She received the award during the AARC’s International Congress, Dec. 13-16 in Anaheim, Calif.

Rye was recognized in part for developing a clinical preceptor program that helps respiratory therapists who host students in hospitals or clinics to be effective teachers while giving those students clinical experience. The program was presented at the 2007 AARC Summer Forum and elements of it were subsequently incorporated into the AARC’s own preceptor program at the 2008 Summer Forum.

Rye joined the UAMS faculty in 1993. She was recently appointed to serve as a referee and committee member on the Committee for Accreditation for Respiratory Care Education, the accreditation agency for respiratory care educational programs.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,652 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. Visit www.uams.edu.