UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES (UAMS), DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY is seeking an innovative educational leader to serve as Program Director for the Psychiatry Residency Program, upon the retirement of our current longstanding Program Director. This is an exceptional opportunity to shape the future of psychiatric education in a supportive and dynamic environment, as well as to engage in educational scholarship.

About our program: 

Our residency consists of eight (8) psychiatry residents per year. We provide comprehensive training across diverse clinical settings. Unique clinical experiences include:

• State hospital within walking distance

• Women’s mental health inpatient unit

• Dual diagnosis inpatient unit

• Veteran’s mental health center with a geriatric psychiatry inpatient unit

• Community mental health center

• Interventional psychiatry (ECT, accelerated TMS via the SAINT protocol, ketamine and esketamine)

• Nearby Children’s Hospital

• Collaboration with the College of Public Health, including ability to obtain an MPH

• Numerous available electives, including behavioral genetics, neuro-inflammation, women’s mental health, adolescent and  adult substance use disorder, first episode psychosis, transplant, student wellness, forensics, and neuroimaging.

• Multiple Fellowships are also offered at UAMS in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine, and Women’s Mental Health.

A strong culture of resident well-being and work-life balance pervades the program. The residents are organized into four “houses,” which meet regularly with faculty advisors for social and professional camaraderie. Residents are immersed in a culture of supportive mentorship, including many mentors from departments across the entire campus. UAMS routinely ranks

among the top 10 medical schools whose students choose to match in psychiatry; medical students’ highly positive experiences with our trainees and faculty strongly influence this trend.

The training program, which benefits from state-of-the-art facilities, emphasizes evidence based practices and cutting-edge research. We have a strong focus on community mental health, and we treat many patients who reside in rural areas of the state. As the primary training site for psychiatrists in the state, our graduates track into academic careers in education and research as well as community psychiatry and private practice.

A Resident Academic Track provides selected residents with protected time to engage in scholarly activities across the last three years of training. All residents have access to dedicated mentors who are passionate about providing residents with personalized opportunities to pursue their interests.

UAMS College of Medicine is strongly supportive of psychiatry throughout the campus. For example, the current Executive Associate Dean and GME Designated Institutional Official, as well as the Director of the Center for GME, are both psychiatrists who are members of the Department of Psychiatry.

Ideal Candidate:

- Board-certified psychiatrist with a demonstrated commitment to graduate medical education

- Experience in residency program leadership, medical student training, or administration (e.g., Associate Program Director; Clerkship Director)

- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

- Interest and/or experience in educational scholarship

Applicants must have an MD or DO degree; must have completed four years of approved residency program in psychiatry and be board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and must maintain board certifications; must have at least three years of experience in academic psychiatry; must be willing to provide direct clinical supervision of residents; and

must possess or be eligible to apply for a valid Arkansas medical license prior to employment.

Setting: Arkansas’s only comprehensive academic medical center, UAMS is considered a regional treatment and training “hub” for psychiatry and mental health. The Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI), Department of Psychiatry (http://psychiatry.uams.edu/) is a state-of-the art facility created to treat and study various forms of mental illness. PRI houses a variety of programs, including inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment, addictions and women’s health clinics, and a multitude of research foci. PRI is currently expanding a variety of collaborative services across disciplines including surgical, neuroscience, and family medicine.

UAMS is the largest public employer in the state with more than 10,000 employees in 73 of Arkansas’ 75 counties and a regional campus in Northwest Arkansas. Little Rock is a scenic city sitting on the south bank of the Arkansas River in Central Arkansas. It is the capital and most populous city in Arkansas with a 2016 population estimate of 198,000, though the Little Rock

metropolitan area has approximately 725,000 residents. The size of Little Rock and surrounding area gives its residents a feeling of living in a large city with many amenities accessible to them, while also maintaining a small town feel with quiet shops and family-friendly neighborhoods. Little Rock boasts a number of attractions for those who are lovers of art, music, and theater,

including the Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Robinson Center Music Hall, Wildwood Park for the Arts, Community Theatre of Little Rock, and Ballet Arkansas. Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy biking and running on the Arkansas River Trail which features more than 15 miles of scenic riverfront and the Big Dam Bridge, one of the longest pedestrian and bicycle bridges in North America. Little Rock also has over 60 parks and recreational areas.

Please send CV to carla@uams.edu