UAMS Student Clinical Education Center

This renovation of just over 12,000 sf of previously surgical procedure space was designed to enable students and professionals to practice in a collaborative environment. It melds three uses into one space: A specialty clinic of private practitioners, a clinical skills area for the teaching of students, and a continuity clinic where student doctors work with practicing professionals to address the needs of real patients. The new clinic encompasses exam and procedure, conference and consultation, a break area, and the support spaces necessary for the high tech education of today’s medical students.

A desire for simplicity from a complex program and tight spatial constraints allowed for the exploration of small moments aimed to both enliven patients’ experience and orchestrate the collaboration between students and practitioners. A new entrance and waiting area offer an open, light filled atmosphere and include a children’s play area and refreshment bar. Check-in and admission occur in a warm, wooden entry box that leads to the exam and procedure rooms. A simple color palette connects the studious and clinical uses of the space while breaking the typical monotony of medical corridors in a playful and relaxed manner. The existing concrete floors have been stripped and polished in order to minimize cost and waste while low and no-VOC finishes are used to maintain a high level of indoor air quality. Comfort is sought through craft in the custom fabricated millwork that floats on the back wall of each exam room and the floating counters found in the workspaces. These elements come together to create a healthy and lively, collaborative clinic for the patients, students, and practitioners.