The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to establish a family medicine rural track residency program in El Dorado.
The new residency program will focus on full scope family medicine with a unique emphasis on obstetrics. Recruiting for the program will begin this summer with the first class of four residents expected to start in July 2026. When full, the three-year program will have a total of 12 residents.
“We’re extremely pleased to have earned this accreditation from the ACGME,” said Richard Turnage, M.D., vice chancellor of UAMS Regional Campuses. “With this residency program, we will be training the next generation of primary care doctors in south Arkansas. Our hope is that once they’ve finished the program, these residents will stay in the area to practice.”
The program is designed to recruit, train and retain family medicine physicians who provide full-scope care, including prenatal, postnatal and obstetric services. Its goal is to prepare graduates to deliver independent, comprehensive and patient-centered care to families at every stage of life. UAMS hopes to attract physicians committed to serving rural Arkansas, where medical needs are often greatest, with the aim of improving access to quality health care for generations to come.
Residents will spend their first year in the program in Little Rock, splitting time between UAMS Health Little Rock Family Medical Center, UAMS Medical Center and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. During their second and third years in the program, residents will reside in El Dorado, working at the UAMS Health Family Medical Center in El Dorado, the South Arkansas Regional Hospital, the South Arkansas Women’s Clinic and other partner clinics.
“This accreditation reflects the hard work of Dr. Donya Watson, who will serve as the residency director for the program, and Janie Ward, who is the program coordinator,” Turnage said. “We also could not have earned this accomplishment without the support of so many others, including Dr. Shashank Kraleti, Dr. Stacy Zimmerman, Dr. Molly Gathright and Dr. Jim Clardy. We also received incredible support from the medical community in south Arkansas as well as community leaders in El Dorado.”
The start of the residency program has also been aided by a variety of funding sources. UAMS received a $750,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration last year while also earning a $2.5 million grant from the Arkansas State Legislature earlier this spring.
Additionally, the program has benefitted from engaged community partnerships and substantial philanthropic support. To date, UAMS has secured approximately $3.4 million in financial support with an additional $2.4 million in pledges from community donors.
“As the South Regional Campus continues to expand, we want to extend our sincere gratitude to our partners in the community,” Turnage added. “Their investment is improving health care across South Arkansas.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation.
UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health.
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