The UAMS Regional Centers Sponsoring Institution
UAMS is unique in having two sponsoring institutions (SI) supporting our graduate medical education programs. The UAMS College of Medicine (COM) SI is based in Little Rock and supports the 64 ACGME-accredited residency and fellowship programs and 700+ residents and fellows based in the UAMS Medical Center. The UAMS Regional Centers SI is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas and supports residency and fellowship programs based in community hospitals around the state.
Regional Centers were created because UAMS recognizes that community-based residency and fellowship programs have differing needs from those based in a large academic medical center. Having a separate SI for our non-Little Rock GME programs enables us to provide much more intensive, hands-on support to program directors and faculty, ensuring that residents and fellows receive a rigorous educational experience and can graduate to safely and independently practice medicine.
The Regional Centers SI also enables UAMS to extend our mission to improve the health and well-being of Arkansans through education, research, and clinical care to all corners of the state, while simultaneously building important clinical and educational partnerships with other hospitals. As part of our Vision 2029 strategic plan, UAMS has set an ambitious goal to expand GME opportunities in Arkansas by creating 100 new residency and fellowship positions, nearly all of which will fall under the umbrella of the Regional Centers SI.
Mission Statement
The mission of the UAMS Regional Centers Sponsoring Institution is to educate and train physicians through community-based residency and fellowship training programs to ensure they can practice safely, competently, and independently by
- Developing and sustaining high-quality training programs that meet the needs of residents, faculty, and community members
- Forming close partnerships with community hospitals to provide diverse clinical training opportunities and develop faculty across the state
- Providing continuous faculty development and programmatic quality improvement to ensure the highest standards of evidence-based medicine
- Extending the reach of UAMS clinical care, education, and research to all corners of the state
- Providing an alliance between our GME programs and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to ensure ongoing program compliance and accreditation
- Improving the health and well-being of all Arkansans
Core Values
- Safety: promoting and sustaining a culture of patient safety and resident/fellow well-being
- Teamwork, Service, and Partnership: creating interprofessional teams and inter-institutional collaborative relationships in service of the educational goals and objectives of our programs
- Excellence: adhering to best practices and continuous quality improvement to achieve the highest standards for our programs, our faculty, and our residents and fellows
- Diversity and Health Equity: committing to the importance of diversity in our program leadership, faculty, and resident/fellow complements to improve education, reduce health disparities, and honor the unique contributions provided by a diversity of values, beliefs, and cultures.
- Respect, Integrity, and Professionalism: fostering, encouraging, and expecting honesty, accountability, and transparency in pursuit of the highest ethical and professional standards and embracing professionalism with respect for the dignity of all