Conway Regional Health System has received initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for its Family Medicine Residency program. The program will inaugurate its first class of residents in July.  

“Receiving accreditation for our first Graduate Medical Education Program is a result of our team identifying a need and coming together to develop and implement a solution,” said Matt Troup, president and chief executive officer of Conway Regional Health System. “In Conway, or the City of Colleges, education is a part of the fabric of our community. Because of this, a Family Medicine Residency program made sense for our health system and for our community. Our program will train a generation of physicians who are critical thinkers, compassionate providers, skilled clinicians and future leaders in medicine.” 

The Family Medicine Residency program will offer further opportunity for Arkansas medical students to complete their residency in state. 

“In 2019, we received Institutional Accreditation and have since been on a journey to establish our Family Medicine Residency program,” said Rebekah Fincher, chief administrative officer and designated institutional officer. “Beginning in 2020, we will see more Arkansas medical students who graduate in our state, but do not have the opportunity to match with a residency in Arkansas. This, combined with a need for more primary care physicians throughout our state, will allow us to increase health care access by producing exceptionally trained physicians who we hope will stay in Arkansas and provide care.”

The Conway Regional Family Medicine Residency program will encourage innovation while incorporating traditional family medicine, minor surgeries, obstetrical/gynecological care and pediatrics into a dynamic educational process. 

“Our team is wholeheartedly committed to preparing each resident for a successful and enjoyable life as a family physician,” said Sarah Robertson, MD, family medicine residency program director. “The goal of our program is to equip future family physicians with the knowledge, experience and skills necessary to provide exemplary patient care and positively impact the full spectrum of family practice health care delivery.” 

Residents will learn to practice as effective members of the health care system through multi-disciplinary, team-based care within the inpatient and ambulatory settings. The program will be based in the Conway Regional Medical Center, the Conway Medical Group and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. 

Four residents will have the opportunity to match with Conway Regional through the Residency Matching Program in March and will begin their first day of residency on July 1. 

Accreditation for the Family Medicine Residency program was received through a rigorous process under the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This process included evaluations of the health system as well as program personnel, faculty, institutional safety and quality metrics, curriculum, the learning and working environment and more. The organization also conducted an onsite interview from the ACGME as part of the process for final approval.   

In addition to Troup, Fincher and Robertson, the accreditation process was led by Darren Freeman, MD, and Jeremiah Keng, DO, core faculty; and Megan Stelting, family medicine residency program coordinator.