Author: Jamie Stoskopf

The College of Health Professions (CHP) recently held its third annual Kansas High School Health Science Teacher’s Workshop, aimed at enhancing high school educators’ knowledge and teaching strategies related to the healthcare industry. The workshop featured speakers Dr. Sam Smith, Brittni Mayagoitia and Dr. Rhonda Williams, who provided insights into mastering the nervous system through active learning, transitioning from healthcare practice to classroom teaching and utilizing a hands-on approach for teaching clinical skills.

Participants engaged in interactive skill-building exercises and toured the college’s cutting-edge laboratories, including the Gross Anatomy, Human Simulation, and School of Nursing Simulation labs. These experiences were designed to equip teachers with innovative methods and resources to inspire their students to pursue healthcare careers.

In addition, travel scholarships were offered to support teachers from outside the Wichita area in attending the workshop. The college extends its gratitude to Ascension Via Christi for co-sponsoring the event and contributing to its success.

Kudos to the spring 2024 Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates, who achieved a 98% pass rate on the NCLEX licensure exam on their first attempt, surpassing the national average pass rate.

Congratulations to the hardworking students, faculty and staff. A pass rate of this magnitude is an outstanding accomplishment, and a testament to the exceptional education students receive in the School of Nursing at Wichita State.

The Physician Associate program is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Lorna Nguutu as the new medical director and Dr. Marc Duverseau as the new associate medical director. The program looks forward to furthering student growth under their medical expertise and dedication to the PA community.

Drs. Nguutu and Duverseau are replacing longtime medical director, Dr. Garold Minns. The PA program extends its gratitude to Dr. Minns for his many years of service to the program.

The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Wichita State is open all summer, offering services to the public and the WSU community. The clinic provides services to people across all ages who have communication difficulties, including speaking, hearing, swallowing and spoken and written language impairments.

The Speech-Language-Hearing clinic is located in the Hughes Metropolitan Complex at the intersection of 29th and Oliver. Call 316-978-3289 to schedule an appointment.

The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Wichita State is open all summer, offering services to the public and the WSU community. The clinic provides services to people across all ages who have communication difficulties, including speaking, hearing, swallowing and spoken and written language impairments. The clinic offers hearing evaluations to faculty and staff at no additional charge.

The Speech-Language-Hearing clinic is located in the Hughes Metropolitan Complex at the intersection of 29th and Oliver. Call 316-978-3289 to schedule an appointment.

Are you interested in a career in nursing? The School of Nursing is hosting an information session at 10 a.m. Friday, June 7 in 110A Ahlberg Hall.

Join to learn more about the Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs at Wichita State, admission requirements and ask questions directly to nursing faculty.

The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Wichita State offers free hearing evaluations to faculty and staff.

During the evaluations, an audiologist will test the patient’s hearing to determine if there is hearing loss and the type and severity of the loss. Hearing evaluations will last approximately one to two hours. If a patient does appear to have hearing loss, the appointment may last longer.

To schedule an appointment, call 316-978-3289. The clinic is located at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex at the intersection of 29th and Oliver streets.

The Wichita State and University of Kansas interdisciplinary team won second place at the annual CLARION Interprofessional National Case Competition. Students presented “Pandemics Past, Present, and Future: Emphasizing Trust & Equity in Emergency Preparedness and Response” with their analysis and implementation plans that reflect how to prepare and respond effectively to an arising pandemic. Team members from the Wichita State College of Health Professions are Taylor Lipford, (speech-language pathology), Kristen Geiger (physician associate) and Taygen Altenburg (health administration).

The team competed at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and the competition included 11 teams from universities across the country, with 47 students representing different healthcare professions. The team was coached by Sarah Flora, assistant educator with the Wichita State School of Nursing, and Mary Koehn, education associate professor with the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

CLARION is a national competition dedicated to improving health care through interprofessional collaboration. Student teams are given a case and charged with creating a feasible 360-degree, interprofessional plan to address a specific health care issue. Students work as part of an interdisciplinary team and present their research to a panel of interprofessional judges.

Congratulations to Dr. Dean Elledge, director for the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program, who was named 2024 Dentist of the Year by the Kansas Dental Association. Dr. Elledge was presented with the award at the Kansas Dental Association conference in Kansas City. 

Dr. Elledge’s specialties include implantology and prosthodontics, and he is the only licensed prosthodontist in the area. The AEGD program at Wichita State is a one-year, postdoctoral education program for dentists and is the only dentistry education training in Kansas.   

Congratulations to Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) student Dorianne “Dori” Lebron Malave for being selected as the recipient of the annual endowed scholarship from Southcentral Pathology Laboratory for fall 2024. Dori was recently surprised during class with the news that she is this semester’s award recipient. Dori was nominated by faculty in the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences for her dedication and outstanding academic performance in the program. Isai Chavira, who was the recipient in fall 2023, will continue to receive the scholarship in fall 2024. 

Dori says the scholarship will bring her the peace of solely focusing on academics and pursuing her Medical Laboratory Sciences degree.  

“Ever since I came into the program, everything felt right, and this award proves it to be real,” she says. “I would like to thank the faculty, my classmates and Dr. Alderson for being part of this special moment that has given me the reassurance that I’m right where I need to be.” 

The Southcentral Pathology Scholarship award was established in 2021 by Dr. Joel Alderson, president of Southcentral Pathology in Wichita, the largest group of surgical pathologists in southcentral Kansas. His goal in establishing this scholarship is to attract students to the medical laboratory sciences profession and reward students who have displayed success through academic achievement, character and personal testament.  This generous award provides full-ride scholarships to two deserving students each year in the WSU MLS program. Recipients are chosen based on merit and financial need, and each student receives an equal amount of funds. This is the largest scholarship donation to the MLS program.