Arkansas Honors in Underserved Primary Care

Heidi Damron, MS
HLDamron@uams.edu

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) offers the Honors in Underserved Primary Care (HUPC) program; applications are open to all first-year medical students at UAMS. The program provides medical students a slate of unique curricular and extracurricular experiences with the goal of training and retaining primary care doctors in Arkansas who are committed to providing comprehensive care to rural and urban populations.

Program objectives include:

• Provide students a cutting-edge longitudinal educational and extracurricular experience in comprehensive medical care for populations of need in both rural and urban settings
• Inspire student interest in a career practicing primary care in Arkansas
• Foster a robust community of physicians, administrators, and students who are passionate about primary care in rural and urban areas in Arkansas
• Understand and master the HRSA Core Topic Areas

Activities will include:

• A longitudinal project
• Literature review
• Mentorship
• Shadowing community doctors
• Family medicine preceptorship
• AHEC Scholars
• Extracurricular activities
• Junior clerkship
• Senior elective
• Core text readings

There are 2 tracks:

• The standard 4-year track is available at the UAMS Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas campuses.
• The accelerated 3-year track is available on the UAMS Northwest Arkansas campus and on the UAMS Little Rock campus.

Eligible applicants are first-year medical students at UAMS.

A list of program benefits is available on the program website.

A link to the online application is available on the program website.

Applications are accepted during the M1/M1-A year from August, 2026 through mid-February, 2027.