Abigail Richison, M.D., Program Director
I often say that one of our program’s greatest accomplishments is getting (and keeping) a Texan out of Texas. I’m originally from Galveston, Texas, where I also attended medical school before matching at UAMS for psychiatry residency.
From the moment I arrived on campus for my interview, UAMS felt like home. The welcoming faculty and residents, the beautiful facilities, and the accessibility of key training sites including the Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI), VA, and the Arkansas State Hospital all within walking distance, made a strong impression. It was clear early on that the program prioritized both education and resident well-being. Though I didn’t know anyone in Little Rock when I moved, I quickly built meaningful relationships with my co-residents and found a vibrant and supportive community.
What I appreciated most during residency was the program’s strong culture of academic curiosity and career development. Faculty consistently treated residents as colleagues and protected our educational time, allowing us not only to gain robust clinical experience across three diverse sites, but also to engage thoughtfully with complex cases and expand our medical knowledge.
After residency, I completed a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center before returning to UAMS as faculty. I now serve as the primary attending for the Co-Occurring Disorders Inpatient rotation at PRI for first-year psychiatry residents. I also work with upper-level residents either during their fourth-year electives or through the Resident Academic Track during their second and third years. Teaching has always been a passion of mine, and I’m honored to now serve as Program Director for the UAMS Psychiatry Residency Program. Outside of work, I enjoy exploring new restaurants with my significant other, tending to my growing collection of houseplants, watching horror movies, and taking walks with my senior dog, Pixie.
Margaret Ege-Woolley, M.D., Assistant Program Director
I am originally from Alabama, and I always imagined that I would return there upon completion of my residency training in Arkansas. Funnily enough, I very nearly cancelled my interview at UAMS as it was my last interview and I was frankly out of money for traveling. I am so glad I didn’t! Once I arrived for my residency interview, it was obvious the culture of the program was exactly what I wanted. I knew that wherever I matched I would need to make an entirely new life there as I did not have anyone who would be moving with me. From the moment I met the faculty, residency education support staff, and the residents, it became clear that this program fostered a genuine sense of belonging. Throughout residency and geriatric psychiatry fellowship, these relationships continued to strengthen, and now I can’t imagine my life anywhere else.
In addition to geriatric psychiatry, I also hold a special interest for serious and persistent mental illnesses and work primarily on the acute inpatient unit of our Veterans Affairs hospital. I get to work directly with all of the second-year residents and often several of the fourth-year residents on electives. I am also a house mentor for the residency, which gives me the opportunity to work with several residents as a mentor beginning in their intern year and continuing throughout their training. I strive to maintain an open door policy with the residents and create an environment where they can feel free to voice concerns or talk about their plans post-graduation.
Outside of work, I am a foodie and enjoy trying new recipes as well as making the rounds on Little Rock’s impressive restaurant scene. I also like playing board games and spending time with my family.
Lewis Krain, M.D., Vice Chair for Education
I remember when I was a wide-eyed new attending, excited to come home to my first faculty position after completing my training in Michigan. The strength of the Psychiatry Department and UAMS’ emphasis on education convinced me to return to Little Rock, where I had grown up and graduated from medical school. I brought with me some new ideas for teaching and how to run the residency program, and made a name for myself as an educator. Now, almost 20 years later, I’m now one of the Old Guard. As Vice Chair of Education I get to be a teacher, a mentor, an advisor, and an advocate for prioritizing the role of training in the academic medical center.
My philosophy on education is simple and straightforward: Give people options, let them choose what’s right for them, and help them get where they want to be. We’ve built a program of open doors; you can come in, look around, and ask people what they’re doing. If what they’re doing seems interesting to you, you’ll be invited to join them. If it’s not interesting to you, feel free to look around some more until you find something else that is. Meanwhile, our core educational experience covers all the general bases and you’ll leave our program ready for any kind of practice you want to pursue.
I feel fortunate to have spent the majority of my academic life here at UAMS. This school and this department have always supported my identity as a mentor and an educator, and the colleagues I work with are also my friends. I’ve helped launch dozens of careers into academic medicine, many of whom are now my colleagues in this department today. If you’re interested in obtaining a strong education in a friendly, collegial environment, I invite you to check out our department.