The Department of Psychiatry and the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute’s education programs for medical students, psychiatry residents and fellows, and psychology interns and fellows, are highly respected both locally and nationally. Students and trainees learn and gain experience across the continuum of care through diverse training sites including UAMS Health, the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas State Hospital, Centers for Youth and Families, UAMS Northwest and other associated clinics.
Undergraduate medical education in psychiatry is a standout in the College of Medicine, with UAMS students performing well above the national average on the NBME psychiatry subject exam for many years. Juniors have rated the psychiatry clerkship the highest for the past decade. Psychiatry faculty members have garnered numerous student- and peer-nominated teaching awards. The Psychiatric Research Institute’s strong foundation in medical student education is one reason so many UAMS graduates choose residencies in psychiatry, placing UAMS among the top ten medical schools nationwide for recruiting students to the specialty.
The ACGME-approved Psychiatry Residency Program accepts up to eight new residents per year and is recognized as one of the strongest in the region. The department is opening a second ACGME-accredited residency program in Little Rock sponsored by Baptist Health. A similar program is planned for Northwest Arkansas. The residency programs offers a resident academic track, and its graduates have gone on to our own National Institutes of Mental Health and VA-funded research fellowships, to become Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars, to receive federal research funding, and serves as a strong resource for future faculty members.
The Psychiatric Research Institute offers ACGME-approved fellowships in child/adolescent, forensic, addiction medicine and geriatric psychiatry, and is in the process of beginning a fellowship in consultation liaison psychiatry.