Welcome from our Program Director
Thank you for your interest in the inaugural class of our ACGME accredited collaborative Psychiatry Residency Program between Baptist Health and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (BH-UAMS).
It’s an exciting time to train in psychiatry. Evidence-base in psychiatric treatment has increased exponentially in the last decade. Newer antidepressants have shortened the onset of therapeutic action by targeting different neurotransmitters. Exciting somatic treatments such as transcranial magnetic stimulation have broadened the field of interventional psychiatry. Newer pragmatic psychotherapies have shown great results in meeting emerging challenges. I have a personal commitment to train our residents to be active consumers of available evidence-base to make informed decisions to enhance their community psychiatry practice.
I am glad you are considering psychiatry as a career since there is an enormous need for psychiatrists today. Arkansas has greater shortages of psychiatrists than the national average and the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation. The increase in telehealth in mental health is addressing some of the shortage but rural Arkansans need further expansion of these services. Our program is committed to teaching competencies in delivering high quality mental health care over telehealth both in the areas of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Our residency is committed to ensuring residents develop all required skills and contribute to the community we serve. Our individualized approach to clinical training, with an emphasis on wellness and experiential learning in patient safety and quality improvement, aims at ensuring the highest level of exposure to all sides of psychiatry.
Our Psychiatry Residents will join a thriving group of residents from the other residency programs in the BH-UAMS GME initiative: internal medicine, family medicine, and the transitional year programs. They will also have academic resources of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and UAMS. Our combined faculty have many years of experience in private practice, rural practice, academics, and administration. Our mission is to offer our community, and the state of Arkansas, well-trained and well-rounded psychiatrists who are committed to caring for patients of all needs and to working well with other mental health professionals and integrated behavioral health settings.
Our hope is to retain psychiatrists in Arkansas after they have completed their residency and any other further sub-specialty training. You will discover just like I did a decade ago, that Arkansas is a well-kept secret with the right balance between work and quality of life. We are pleased you are considering Baptist Health-UAMS Psychiatry Program for your training and we look forward to reviewing your application through ERAS.
Prasad R. Padala, M.D., M.S., FACHE
Program Director, Baptist Health-UAMS Psychiatry Residency
Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)