University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics ranks overall as one of "America's Best Hospitals" with 10 of the hospital's specialties listed among the nation's top 50 in an annual survey published by U.S.News & World Report magazine.

It was the 14th time in the 14 years that UI Hospitals and Clinics has been honored in the magazine survey.

Three of the specialties--Otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (eyes), and Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation (bones and joints)--rank among the nation's top 10 in the magazine's July 21 issue. Also ranked were:

• Psychiatry
• Urology
• Respiratory Disorders
• Hormonal Disorders
• Cancer
• Rheumatology
• Gynecology

Jean Robillard, M.D., dean of the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, said The University of Iowa is one of the few academic medical centers in the U.S. that is highly ranked not just in patient care, but also in research and education.

U.S.News & World Report also rates the UI Carver College of Medicine among the top graduate schools for medical education. Those ranked programs include: primary care schools, rural medicine, physician assistants, physical therapy, family medicine, and internal medicine.

Robillard cautions that no one should make decisions about their health care based solely upon such rankings. That decision should be made after considering an array of factors and be made in consultation with the patient's personal physician, they said.

The complete hospital rankings are available on the Web at www.usnews.com.