View Larger Image Arkansas State Representative Denise Garner gets acceptable to effort retired the virtual world anatomy instrumentality connected the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus during a sojourn to the field with chap authorities representatives.
Arkansas State Representative Denise Garner tries retired the virtual world anatomy instrumentality connected the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus during a sojourn to the field with chap authorities representatives.

Dec. 6, 2022 | A radical of astir 10 authorities legislators, arsenic good arsenic unit members from the offices of U.S. Rep. Steve Womack and U.S. Sen. John Boozman, toured the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Northwest Regional Campus successful Fayetteville connected Nov. 29, wherever they learned much astir UAMS’s committedness to wellness attraction successful Northwest Arkansas.

The lawmakers saw presentations connected cardinal UAMS priorities successful the region, heard from students and toured the campus’s caller SIM halfway and virtual world equipment.

UAMS Vice Chancellor of Institutional Relations Andy Davis welcomed the legislators to the field and thanked them for their committedness to UAMS and to the authorities of Arkansas. He mentioned that during his ain clip successful the Arkansas General Assembly, helium didn’t cognize overmuch astir UAMS, and helium hoped that the gathering successful Northwest Arkansas volition assistance members of the legislature recognize the important relation UAMS plays successful the region.

“We invited you present contiguous truthful we tin amended you connected the wide scope of UAMS successful Northwest Arkansas,” Davis said. “We anticipation that you permission present contiguous with a amended knowing of our reach, ngo and footprint successful Northwest Arkansas.”

Holly Maness, a fourth-year pharmacy student, and Christian Goolsby, a third-year carnal therapy student, past gave the radical a student’s position of beingness connected campus.

Maness, a autochthonal of Booneville, spoke astir the excellence of her professors and the comradery of the pharmacy students connected the campus. Goolsby, a autochthonal of Fort Worth, mentioned the unsocial “flipped classroom” method, successful which students get recorded lectures successful beforehand truthful they tin travel prepared to enactment successful the classroom. He besides spoke of interacting with standardized patients and however the students get much applicable acquisition than astatine astir programs.

Amy Wenger, MHSA, vice chancellor of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, gave the radical an overview of the determination campus, which was officially established successful 2007, but that has roots backmost to 1973 erstwhile authorities authorities established Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) astir the state. Wenger’s presumption expounded connected however UAMS has a beardown beingness successful Northwest Arkansas done each 3 of its ngo areas: education, objective and research.

The legislators asked galore questions astir the shortage of wellness attraction workers successful the portion and astir the authorities and however to capable the staffing gaps that are occurring successful each wellness attraction fields.

Parts of the solution, Wenger said, are already underway done UAMS’s caller accelerated Bachelor of Science successful Nursing program, its caller three-year M.D. programme for superior attraction fields, and partnerships with country hospitals to adhd much residency programs successful Northwest Arkansas. Wenger, Davis and the legislators each agreed that much enactment needs to beryllium done collectively and cooperatively to code the problem.

“This occupation isn’t unsocial to Arkansas,” Wenger said. “There are wellness attraction workforce shortages each implicit the nation. Obviously, we can’t hole this occupation overnight. But moving together, we tin find solutions that volition bring much wellness attraction workers to Arkansas and support them here.”

Next, Krista Langston, MBA, enforcement manager of assemblage programs for the UAMS Office of Community Health & Research, told the legislators however that bureau conducts probe and works collaboratively with individuals, organizations and schools to identify, recognize and code wellness inequities. Their outreach programs see steadfast nutrient systems partnerships with schools and nutrient banks, maternal wellness programs, fatherhood programs, aggregate nutrient insecurity and equitable nutrient systems programs, diabetes absorption programs, and programs to code nutrient and wellness disparities successful underserved populations.

Afterward, the legislators toured the campus’s caller SIM center, a 3,400-square-foot, 12-bed abstraction that provides state-of-the-art grooming for students successful each of the UAMS acquisition programs successful Northwest Arkansas. The simulation halfway supplements schoolroom learning and objective acquisition with the usage of standardized patients, diligent simulator manikins and different high-fidelity simulation that offers interactive, challenging learning experiences successful a safe, nonthreatening situation for students.

Finally, the radical visited the campus’ College of Medicine for a objection of the college’s 3D anatomy equipment, including a Toltec SECTRA dissection array and a state-of-the-art virtual world strategy that provides a high-tech alternate to a accepted bedewed anatomy lab.

The UAMS Northwest Regional Campus includes much than 300 medical, pharmacy, nursing and wellness professions students, and 68 residents and fellows. The field has a $58 cardinal operating fund and manages 15 installation locations successful the region, with clinics that see interior and household medicine, a student-led clinic, orthopaedics and sports medicine, behavioral health, and physical, occupational and code therapy.