Clinical Location Naming Conventions

This article defines the standard naming form for UAMS Health clinical locations and explains the grammar rules that govern specialty and service line names within those names. Consistent application of these rules ensures that location names are grammatically correct, internally coherent, and aligned with the established naming corpus across the institution.

The Full Name Structure

A fully qualified clinical location name follows this pattern:

[Brand Prefix] [Specialty or Service Modifier(s)] [Location Type] [Disambiguating Qualifier]

Component	Examples	Notes
Brand prefix	UAMS Health, UAMS Baptist Health	Used only for co-branded locations; omitted for all standard UAMS Health locations
Specialty or service modifier	Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, Cardiology, Ear, Nose and Throat	See the Modifier Form rules below
Location type	Clinic, Center, Hospital, Unit, Laboratory	The head noun; governs which modifier form is required
Disambiguating qualifier	in Fayetteville, at the UAMS Medical Center, on Rodney Parham, in the Cancer Institute	Added only when needed to distinguish among multiple locations of the same type

Examples of the full structure in use:

• Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic in Fayetteville (standard; no brand prefix)
• UAMS Baptist Health Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic in Conway (co-branded; brand prefix present)
• Cardiology Clinic at the UAMS Medical Center (standard; no brand prefix)

The Two Modifier Forms

The central grammatical question in clinical location naming is whether the specialty term appears in its adjective form or its noun form. The rule depends on whether a location-type head noun follows.

Rule 1 — Adjective form when a head noun follows

When the specialty name modifies a location-type head noun (Clinic, Center, Hospital, Unit, etc.), use the adjective form of the specialty. The modifier describes what kind of clinic or center it is.

ACGME specialty names are already in their canonical form and should be used as written. The following examples show specialty names as they appear in clinical location names — these are not derived or transformed, they are the specialty names themselves.

Specialty name (modifier)	Head noun
Orthopaedic	Clinic
Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine	Clinic
Neurological Surgery	Clinic
Gynecologic Oncology	Clinic
Surgical Critical Care	Clinic
Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery	Clinic
Pediatric Surgery	Clinic
Pediatric Cardiology	Clinic
Plastic Surgery	Clinic
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation	Clinic

The adjective-vs.-noun distinction is most practically relevant for specialties whose noun form ends in -ics — specifically Orthopaedics, Obstetrics, and Pediatrics — where the noun form might incorrectly appear in place of the adjective form.

Correct examples:

• Orthopaedic Clinic
• Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic
• Gynecologic Oncology Clinic
• Neurological Surgery Clinic
• Pediatric Surgery Clinic
• Plastic Surgery Clinic

Incorrect examples (noun form used where adjective form is required):

• Orthopaedics Clinic
• Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Clinic

Rule 2 — Noun form when no head noun follows

When the specialty name stands alone — as a department label, building signage, or service line identifier — use the noun form. The specialty is itself the subject, not a descriptor of something else.

Correct signage / department label examples:

• Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine
• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Cardiology
• Dermatology

Incorrect signage / department label examples:

• Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine
• Obstetric and Gynecologic
• Orthopaedic (as a standalone noun)

This distinction is why building exteriors at UAMS Health may read Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine while the formal clinic name on that same building is Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic. Both forms are correct in their respective contexts.

Specialties with No Adjective Form

Some specialties are named exclusively with a noun that also functions as an attributive modifier in American English healthcare naming practice. For these, the noun form is used in all contexts, including when a head noun follows.

Example specialties:

• Anesthesiology
• Audiology
• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Hematology
• Immunology
• Nephrology
• Neurology
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology
• Pathology
• Psychiatry
• Pulmonology
• Radiology
• Rheumatology
• Urology

Correct standard name examples:

• Cardiology Clinic
• Hematology Clinic
• Nephrology Clinic
• Psychiatry Clinic
• Urology Oncology Clinic
• Gastroenterology Clinic

There is no “cardiologic clinic,” “nephrologic clinic,” or “urologic clinic” in standard clinical naming, so the noun serves as the modifier by convention. This is a naming-practice norm, not a grammatical exception — the nouns are functioning as attributive nouns in these constructions.

Compound Specialty Names

When a location serves more than one specialty or service line, the specialties are joined with and (no ampersand in formal written names):

• Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic
• Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic
• Allergy and Immunology Clinic
• Hematology and Medical Oncology Clinic
• Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic
• Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine Clinic
• Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Clinic
• Medical and Surgical Weight Management Clinic
• Orthopaedic and Spine Clinic
• Paracentesis and Thoracentesis Clinic

When three or more terms are joined, use a serial comma before the final and:

• Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Clinic
• Laboratory Genetics and Genomics Clinic (two terms; no serial comma needed)

Each specialty in a compound name follows the same adjective-vs.-noun rule it would follow on its own. In Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic, both Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine are adjective-form modifiers of Clinic. In Hematology and Medical Oncology Clinic, Hematology is a noun-form modifier (no adjective form in common clinical use) and Medical Oncology is an adjective-form modifier — each follows its own rule independently.

Disambiguating Qualifiers

A disambiguating qualifier is appended to a location name only when another location with the same core name exists within the UAMS Health system. Qualifiers are not part of the core name and do not affect modifier form. A location that is the only one of its type in the system carries no qualifier.

The correct qualifier form is determined by the level at which the disambiguation is needed.

Level 1 — Multiple locations in different municipalities

When the same core name exists in more than one Arkansas municipality, append in [Municipality] using the official municipality name.

• Cardiology Clinic in Batesville
• Cardiology Clinic in El Dorado
• Cardiology Clinic in Maumelle
• Family Medical Center in Fayetteville
• Family Medical Center in Fort Smith
• Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic in Fayetteville
• Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic in Lowell

Level 2 — Multiple locations within the same municipality

When the same core name exists more than once within a single municipality, the in [Municipality] qualifier alone is insufficient and a more specific qualifier is required. The form depends on the nature of the distinguishing feature.

2a — Campus location: at the [Campus Name]

When the location is on or within a named campus, append at the [Campus Name].

• Cardiology Clinic at the UAMS Medical Center
• Internal Medicine Clinic at the UAMS Medical Center
• Internal Medicine Clinic at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus
• Internal Medicine Clinic at Butterfield Trail Village

2b — Street address location: on [Street Name]

When the location is not on a named campus and is distinguished by its street address, append on [Street Name] using the common street name without a directional prefix or road-type suffix unless needed for clarity.

• Orthopaedic Clinic on Colonel Glenn
• Orthopaedic Clinic on Autumn Road
• Orthopaedic Clinic on Shackleford
• Rehabilitation Therapy Clinic on Colonel Glenn
• Rehabilitation Therapy Clinic on Autumn Road

Level 3 — Multiple locations within the same campus

When the same core name exists more than once within a single campus, the at the [Campus Name] qualifier alone is insufficient and a building-level qualifier is required. Append in the [Building Name] using the building’s common name.

• MRI Clinic in the Cancer Institute
• CT Imaging Clinic in the Cancer Institute
• Blood Draw Laboratory in the Cancer Institute
• Hand Therapy Clinic in the Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital
• Specialty Clinic in the Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital

Qualifier promotion

Each level supersedes the one above it when disambiguation requires greater specificity. Higher-level qualifiers are dropped rather than stacked.

Situation	Qualifier form
Same name in multiple municipalities	in [Municipality]
Same name in multiple locations within one municipality	at the [Campus Name] or on [Street Name] — municipality qualifier dropped
Same name in multiple locations within one campus	in the [Building Name] — campus qualifier dropped

When an existing location gains a duplicate at a more specific level, all affected locations are updated together. No location in the group retains a qualifier that no longer uniquely identifies it.

Brand Prefix

The brand prefix (UAMS Baptist Health, Baptist Health / UAMS, etc.) is used only for co-branded locations — those operating under a formal partnership with an external health system or institution. It is omitted from all standard UAMS Health location names.

Epic department records: Regardless of whether a location is co-branded, the UAMS Health prefix must be included in the Epic department record’s External Name field. The External Name is the form of the location name surfaced to patients in MyChart and other patient-facing contexts, where the UAMS Health brand identifier is always required.

Co-branded examples (brand prefix present):

• UAMS Baptist Health Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic
• UAMS Baptist Health Orthopaedic Clinic in Conway
• Baptist Health / UAMS Thoracic Surgery Clinic

Standard examples (no brand prefix):

• Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic in Fayetteville
• Cardiology Clinic at the UAMS Medical Center
• Family Medical Center in Little Rock

Quick Reference

Does a head noun (Clinic, Center, Hospital, etc.) follow the specialty name?

• Yes → Use the adjective form: Orthopaedic Clinic, Gynecologic Oncology Clinic, Pediatric Surgery Clinic
• No (signage, department label, service line identifier) → Use the noun form: Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology

Is the specialty name a noun-only form with no common clinical adjective?

• Yes (Cardiology, Urology, Dermatology, Hematology, Nephrology, Psychiatry, etc.) → Use the noun form in all contexts, including before a head noun: Cardiology Clinic, Psychiatry Clinic

Is more than one specialty or service line present?

• Join with and (not &) in formal names.
• Use a serial comma before and when three or more terms are joined.
• Each specialty follows its own modifier-form rule independently.

Does a qualifier need to be added?

1. Does the same core name exist elsewhere in Arkansas? → Add in [Municipality]
2. Does the same core name exist elsewhere in the same municipality? → Add at the [Campus Name] or on [Street Name] (drop the municipality qualifier)
3. Does the same core name exist elsewhere on the same campus? → Add in the [Building Name] (drop the campus qualifier)
4. Is this the only location of its type in the system? → No qualifier

Is this a co-branded location?

• Yes → Include the brand prefix
• No → Omit the brand prefix