Five UAMS Physicians Receive Geriatrics Certification
| LITTLE ROCK – Five physicians at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have received certification as geriatricians, or subspecialists in medical care for the elderly.
The physicians obtained the geriatric medicine certification after taking qualifying examinations in November. Three of the geriatricians are staff physicians at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock : Carmen Arick, M.D., a native of Conway , Ark. , Osama Bishara, M.D., a native of Rouda , Syria , and Bilal Malik, M.D., a native of Lahore , Pakistan . Jennifer Dillaha, M.D., a native of Little Rock , recently began working at the Arkansas Department of Health. Sumathi “Chumi” Devarajan, M.D., a native of Coonoor , India , is practicing medicine in Oregon .
The new geriatricians received their training in the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine. The department is one of the most recognized geriatric education centers in the nation. The magazine U.S. News and World Report recently ranked the department 10th in the nation in graduate education programs in the medical schools – geriatrics category.
The American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Family Practice oversee the geriatrics certification process. Physicians who earn a certificate in a subspecialty have been previously certified in internal medicine or family practice, completed the requisite training, met the licensure requirements, demonstrated clinical competence in the care of patients, and passed the subspecialty examination.