Sara Tariq, M.D., has been named to the newly established position of associate dean for student affairs in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Tariq is well-loved among UAMS medical students as a compassionate educator and mentor. She is also a nationally recognized leader in medical education and an exceptional physician who teaches by example.
Tariq joined the faculty in 2002. She is a professor of internal medicine and has served as assistant dean for undergraduate clinical education since 2009. She will continue to lead this area as well as serve as medical director of the Center for Clinical Skills Education.
“Dr. Tariq has been integral to many educational initiatives in the College of Medicine, including development of our clinical skills education programs, integration of clinical experiences in the first two years of the curriculum, creation of our Academic Houses, and teaching-focused faculty development,” said Christopher T. Westfall, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine and executive vice chancellor at UAMS. “She is devoted to patients and students alike and brings her remarkable energy to her role as associate dean for student affairs.”
Tariq received her medical degree from UAMS in 1998. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She served an additional year as chief resident and then joined the UAMS faculty. She was promoted to associate professor in 2008 and was promoted to professor in 2018.
Tariq’s national honors include the prestigious Herbert S. Waxman Award for Outstanding Medical Student Educator from the American College of Physicians in 2010 and being selected for the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Medicine fellowship at Drexel University, which she completed in 2015-2016. In Arkansas, colleagues in the American College of Physicians (ACP) presented Tariq with the Robert Shields Abernathy ACP Laureate Award for Excellence in Internal Medicine in 2013.
Tariq has earned many teaching awards at UAMS, including numerous annual consecutive Golden Apple, Gold Sash and Red Sash awards from students. She has been invited by the graduating class to deliver the Faculty Charge at Honors Convocation eight times. In 2013 Tariq received the Outstanding Woman Faculty Award from the UAMS Women’s Faculty Development Caucus. She received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from the College of Medicine in 2014 and has been the recipient or co-recipient of other faculty honors, including Educational Research and Educational Innovation awards.