LITTLE ROCK - For the fifth time in nine years, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is ranked in the top 10 nationwide for the percentage of its graduating class to pursue family medicine.
In the latest ranking, the UAMS College of Medicine was listed seventh in the nation by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The ranked list was based on a three-year average ending in 2015 of the percentage of each graduating class to go into a family medicine residency program accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. UAMS was included on the ranking of Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) programs.
More than two thirds of Arkansas' 75 counties include federally designated Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas. UAMS has taken many steps to generate more family physicians and other primary care doctors. Moseley and other academic leaders encourage medical students to consider residency training and careers in family medicine, and the college works with private partners to increase funding for scholarships for students who are interested in primary care.
Daniel A. Knight, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine, said that shortage of primary care providers in Arkansas and nationwide makes this effort more important than ever.