UAMS Graduates 214 Residents

More than 200 physicians have completed their medical residencies at UAMS, and more than half of those will practice in Arkansas, the university announced in a press release.

The 214 physicians who finished their training June 30 practice more than 50 specialities between them. Fifty-six practice family medicine, and of those, 33 will remain in Arkansas, including seven who will practice in small towns.

The press release cited American Association of Medical Colleges’ statistics saying that only seven states had higher retention rates than UAMS.

About 80% of College of Medicine students come from Arkansas. Some will leave the state for fellowships and then return to Arkansas within five years, said James Clardy, M.D., UAMS’ Graduate Medical Education dean.

Clardy said that retention is one of the College of Medicine’s goals when it selects residents.

According to a 2015 study sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States faces a shortage of between 46,000 and 90,000 physicians by 2025. That includes shortages of 12,000-31,000 primary care physicians and 28,000-63,000 non-primary care physicians, particularly surgical specialists.

UAMS is the only Arkansas institution that offers residency training. it has trained 758 Arkansas family practitioners. More than half of Arkansas’ family practitioners completed their training through UAMS.