Here are this week’s Accolades, a roundup of some of the honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine and UAMS faculty, staff, residents, fellows and students I’ve heard about recently.
Generating Primary Care & Rural Physicians for Arkansas
We are thrilled with the news this week that UAMS has again been recognized as a national leader for educating graduates who go on to practice primary care and serve in the areas of Arkansas where they are needed most. U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 list of Best Medical Schools ranked UAMS fourth nationally for primary care education, ninth for most graduates practicing in health professional shortage areas, and 11th for graduates practicing in rural areas. We have seen steady improvements in these annual rankings, and this year’s marked a significant jump. (Read more here.)
Our college is committed to generating more physicians for communities across our state, to ensure all Arkansans have access to high-quality primary care. Many of you have impacted our impressive national rankings and what they signify for the future of our state. Thank you for your inspired teaching and mentoring, advocacy for primary care fields and rural practice, and support for our students as they consider their specialty options and strive to become outstanding physicians.
Ensuring Good Health for Older Arkansans
As the population continues to age, the work of the Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC) to improve the health and care of older adults is more important than ever. AGEC, a part of the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and Department of Geriatrics, will receive a major boost from a $5 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program grant will support AGEC’s efforts to provide specialized training for health professionals, students, caregivers and others across Arkansas who work with older adults. Kudos to Geriatrics Chair and Institute on Aging Director Dr. Jeanne Wei, AGEC Director Dr. Robin McAtee and the entire AGEC team for their work on this grant and ongoing dedication to older Arkansans. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.
Improving Pediatric Hypertension Screening
A successful quality improvement project at Arkansas Children’s to increase and improve pediatric hypertension screening in general pediatric clinics is highlighted in a new article in Pediatric Quality & Safety. Dr. Laura Sisterhen, Professor of General Pediatrics, is senior author on the paper, which also was circulated as the “Article of the Week” by PEDHTN, an international forum for health care professionals working in the field of pediatric hypertension. Coauthors from the Department of Pediatrics included Drs. Richard Blaszak, Brendan Crawford, Mohammad Ilyas and James Magee. Former faculty member Dr. Vildan Tas was first author, and Arkansas Children’s staff members Rachel Achor Jones, MPH and Dr. John Forbus also were coauthors.
COVID & Cardiovascular Disease
Dr. J.L. Mehta, Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine, Physiology and Cell Biology and Pharmacology and Toxicology, is the senior author of an article on COVID-19 and atherosclerosis published as a State-of-the-art Review in the American College of Cardiology’s JACC: Advances. The rising incidence of atherosclerotic disease globally and magnitude of the recent pandemic has illuminated the need to better understand the association between SARS-CoV-2 and atherosclerosis. Dr. Vignesh Chidambaram, a graduate of the UAMS Internal Medicine Residency Program who is now a clinical fellow at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, is first author. Additional UAMS coauthors include Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship graduate Dr. Murrium Sadaf, and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine faculty members Dr. Subhi Al’Aref and Dr. Tushar Tarun.