UAMS Hosts National Exhibit Honoring African American Academic Surgeons

Aug. 6, 2007 |

LITTLE ROCK – A national exhibition celebrating the contributions of African American academic surgeons to medicine and medical education is on display in the library at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) now through Sept. 26.

 

The exhibition is free and open to the public.  The library is located in the Education II Building on the UAMS campus at 4301 W. Markham St. For library hours, call (501) 686-5980 or visit the library’s website at www.library.uams.edu.

 

Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons, is a collaborative effort between the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture in Baltimore, one of the nation’s largest African American museums.

 

The exhibit details the history of the African American physician from pre-Civil War to modern day America. “Early black pioneer physicians not only became skilled practitioners, they became trailblazers and educators paving the way for future physicians, surgeons and nurses, and opening doors to better health care for the African American community,” said the National Library of Medicine about the traveling exhibition.

 

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,435 students and 715 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,400 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. For more information, visit www.uams.edu.