The Baptist Health-University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Medical Education Program continues to tackle physician shortages with the announcement of more resident spots and the completed training of more physicians into the medical field.
This summer, the program increased the number of internal medicine residents admitted from 12 to 15 per year while the psychiatry program increased the number of residents from four to six per year. The Baptist Health-UAMS Medical Education Program also celebrated the completion of residency requirements for 24 physicians in addition to commissioning 12 other physicians for fellowship training in specialty fields.
“The collaboration between Baptist Health and UAMS continues to develop ideas and strategies to address the physician shortages in our communities and this is just another example of the ongoing commitment of our organizations,” said Cody Walker, president of Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock. “The education here on our hospital campus is providing new access to life-changing care for Arkansans and beyond.”
The Baptist Health-UAMS Medical Education Program has welcomed 43 residents in 2023 for training in internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, and transitional year programs. Within the next two years, it will grow to a total of 117 residents once all four programs have reached full maturation.
Baptist Health and the UAMS College of Medicine partnered in 2018 to create the four residency programs in response to an ongoing national shortage of primary care physicians and the expanding health care needs in Arkansas. Programs began resident training in 2019.
Studies show that physicians are more likely to practice close to where they did their residencies: 75% stay within 75 miles of where they trained.
Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock has the full-service complement necessary for the training of residents in the inpatient, outpatient, and subspecialty clinical settings. Residents are exposed to a variety of adult medicine diagnoses, medical conditions, and patient-populations.
Ranging in length between one to four years, each program is accredited by the Accrediting Council of Graduate Medical Education.
For more information about the Baptist Health-University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Education Program, visit baptisthealth-uams-gme.org.