Rahn, Hopkins, Only Arkansans and Two of Only 53 Physicians Worldwide Honored by American College of Physicians
| April 11, 2017 | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., and Robert Hopkins Jr., M.D., professor in the UAMS College of Medicine have joined an elite group of physicians awarded Mastership in the American College of Physicians (ACP), the national organization of internists.
Rahn and Hopkins, director of the Division of Internal Medicine in the college’s Department of Internal Medicine, were two of 53 internists from across the world to receive the honor at the ACP’s annual scientific conference, the Internal Medicine Meeting, held March 30-April 1 in San Diego. They were the only two Arkansans to achieve Mastership this year. The last Arkansan to be honored was in 2012.
Only about 850 internists, or just more than .5 percent, of 148,000 ACP members worldwide have been awarded Mastership in the College.
“As the governor of the ACP Arkansas Chapter, I am very proud of the humanity and the services that earned both Dr. Rahn and Dr. Hopkins this high honor,” said Omar Atiq, M.D., a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in the College of Medicine. “Mastership is the highest honor the college bestows, and it comes only after a long, arduous process during which they carefully vet the credentials of all nominees and ensure that the recipients deserve it. Only a handful are selected every year from an extraordinary group of highly talented physicians.”
According to ACP bylaws, Masters are elected “on account of personal character, positions of honor, contributions toward furthering the purposes of the ACP, eminence in practice or in medical research, or other attainments in science or in the art of medicine.” ACP activities and community service are also taken into consideration.
Rahn has been UAMS chancellor since 2009, coming to Arkansas from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, where he served as president for eight years and as senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia.
A native of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Rahn is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale University School of Medicine. After completing internal medicine and rheumatology training at Yale, he entered the private practice of internal medicine and rheumatology. He later returned to the full-time faculty at Yale, where he was director of the Lyme Disease Program, director of clinical training in rheumatology and director of faculty practice for the Department of Internal Medicine.
He is a member of the Association of Academic Health Centers and led its national Health Workforce Shortages Advisory Committee. His work involves developing strategies to address a wide range of population health and health policy issues. He has authored many scientific articles and textbook chapters.
During his tenure at UAMS, Rahn has improved the university’s financial footing and expanded educational, clinical and research programs across the state of Arkansas.
Hopkins is a professor in the UAMS departments of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. He has served as director of the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program since 2006 and was associate director from 1995-2006. A 1989 graduate of Medical College of Georgia, he completed his residency in internal medicine/pediatrics at UAMS in 1993.
Starting as an instructor in the UAMS Department of Pediatrics in 1993 and the Department of Internal Medicine in 1995, Hopkins has held positions as an assistant professor in pediatrics and associate professor in both departments.
Hopkins is a member of numerous professional and medical associations, including ACP, with which he served as governor for the Arkansas Chapter from 2007-11.
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States. ACP members include 148,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists and medical students.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###