Daniel Bingham, M.D.
Hey guys, I’m one of the chief residents! My name is Daniel Bingham and I’m a current PGY-4. I’m from Sherwood, Arkansas, and I attended the University of Arkansas for undergrad where I met my beautiful wife Avery. I went to medical school here at UAMS, and I will be staying here as faculty after my residency is completed. What can I say—it’s been almost eight years at UAMS and I’m still enjoying it.
I chose to do my residency at UAMS for many reasons, the first being the outstanding clinical education you receive here. UAMS is the only level one trauma center in Arkansas, with almost 3,000 trauma admissions every year. We are a tertiary referral center with a multi-state catchment area. We are also the main high-risk obstetrics center for the state. Because of that, we do many challenging cases on patients with multiple comorbidities early during residency. No need to worry about your ACGME minimum requirements!
In addition to the clinical experience, UAMS provides an outstanding educational experience. Last year we had a 100% pass rate on both the basic and advanced exams. For the ITE (in-training exam) 18.5% of our residents scored in the top 10% in the country, 37% in the top 20%, and 65% in the top half. We have 24/7 access to a state of the art, 7,500 square foot simulation center, which is also one of the nationwide MOCA (Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology) centers. There are a variety of research opportunities in our department, with ongoing clinical research in obstetrics, regional, neuro, chronic pain, and cardio-thoracic, just to name a few.
Last (but definitely not least) is the people. I interviewed at many great institutions during my application cycle and nowhere else did I meet people who were as genuine and caring as those I met at UAMS. Not only are the people here your mentors, coworkers, and supervisors, but they become your friends.
Little Rock is a great city to live and work in. The cost of living here is extremely affordable on a resident salary, with about half of our residents becoming homeowners during their time here. I love the fact that no matter the time of day, you can get anywhere in town in 20 minutes. I also love that there are so many outdoor activities (my favorite being duck hunting). If we were able to give you a Little Rock tour, we’d show you the many breweries, cycling trails, and dog parks near UAMS, as those are some of our residents’ favorite places to hang out. Since we can’t see you in person, you’ll just have to take my word for it—and I hope you’ll get to experience those places with us in the future!
Matthew Palascak, M.D.
Thank you for your interest in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Anesthesiology Residency program! As one of the current chief residents, I would like to welcome you “virtually” and I hope that you find some additional information about our program on this site. I look forward to meeting you at an upcoming event or interview date.
There were several reasons for selecting UAMS and I hope that you get a sense of the opportunities that our program provides. UAMS is the Level 1 Trauma center for the state and some of the adjacent areas of neighboring states. We care for a variety of patients with different acuities and procedural needs. There is always something to learn, either in the Operating Room or in the procedural areas where residents help care for our diverse patients. In addition to feeling comfortable with straightforward anesthesiology cases, I also feel comfortable with advanced areas, including trauma resuscitation, organ transplantation (kidney and liver), high-risk obstetric deliveries, and complex pediatric cases as common examples. You are exposed to complex medical cases early on in your residency and have the full faculty support to learn during those cases. The clinical opportunities truly enable you to overshoot your ACGME case minimum numbers during training. The medical acumen and experience that I learn now will help with my future career in anesthesiology.
We are an academic medical center as well and this classification provides opportunities in a variety of other areas: Research and quality improvement work, simulation in our state-of-the-art Simulation Center, teaching, and mentoring medical students volunteering and serving on the resident council, etc.
I moved to Little Rock for residency and found the transition from a large metropolitan area (northern New Jersey, outside of New York City) to be very effortless. Little Rock is the capital city and unsurprisingly is the hub for the state. It may be a smaller city compared with others in the U.S., but there are plenty of things to do and experience here. There are a variety of local restaurants in town. Outside of Little Rock, there are a variety of outdoor activities both near and far from the city.
Everyone in our program was very welcoming and I quickly made friends with people in our program and with other residents. Despite being a medium-sized program, our residents are particularly close, and I have enjoyed hanging out with my co-residents for dinner, playing tennis together, or watching college football as some social examples. On a post-call day, I enjoy sleeping late, heading to the gym, and then catching up with friends at dinner or watching a movie as I prepare to transition back to a day schedule. I think that we have a very cohesive and familial residency group and we are looking for applicants who recognize the abundant clinical opportunities and want to join this cooperative residency environment.