Suspenders4Hope®, a program developed at Wichita State University, is highlighting different departments and individuals on campus who are advocates for mental health in hopes that their stories will inspire others to continue supporting one another in the community.
The physician associate program is being recognized as a Suspenders4Hope® Mental Health Advocate for its commitment to integrating mental wellness and behavioral health education throughout its curriculum, supporting student well-being, expanding interdisciplinary collaboration and preparing future physician associates to provide compassionate, holistic care across Kansas communities.
Integrating mental wellness into medical education and clinical practice
Wichita State University continues to expand its commitment to mental health and wellness across academic disciplines. The physician associate (PA) program has officially been recognized as the next Suspenders4Hope® Mental Health Advocates on campus. This designation highlights a curriculum-wide effort to prioritize psychological safety and awareness for both future practitioners and the patients they will serve.
Medical education is notoriously rigorous, often placing immense pressure on students as they balance intensive clinical rotations with demanding coursework. By adopting the Suspenders4Hope® framework, the PA program ensures that students are not only trained to recognize mental health crises in clinical settings but are also encouraged to manage their own well-being. This proactive approach builds those leadership principles into the healthcare environment.
"PAs are an important part of the solution for the behavioral health needs of Kansans,” said Julie Slade, associate program director and director of clinical development & operations. “By providing quality behavioral health education not only in the classroom but also in clinical settings, we are equipping future PAs with skills that will improve access to care in our communities.”
A comprehensive approach to behavioral health
The program has utilized dedicated funding from the Kansas Behavioral Health Center of Excellence to embed mental wellness and behavioral health into the very fabric of its curriculum:
- Faculty expertise: Educators like LaDonna Hale and Chris Dudley are leading efforts to integrate behavioral health-related pharmacology and case-based learning across the curriculum.
- Specialized leadership: New faculty member Megan Colwin, who brings more than a decade of clinical behavioral health experience, has expanded the didactic curriculum to better prepare students for psychiatric-related disorders.
- Student support: To alleviate financial stress, scholarships were provided to all 44 students in the class of 2025 to cover the costs of their required behavioral health clinical rotations.
- Interprofessional collaboration: The program supports the Autism Interdisciplinary Diagnostic Team (AIDT), modernizing diagnostic capabilities and fostering collaboration between physical therapy, nursing and PA students to address holistic patient wellness.
Leading the way in Kansas
The commitment to mental health extends beyond the classroom and into the professional landscape. The WSU PA program has developed the first PA Behavioral Health Post-Graduate Fellowship in the state of Kansas and has recruited three fellows to the program. In partnership with the Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, this 13-month fellowship is providing specialized training for licensed PAs, specifically aiming to improve access to care in rural Kansas communities.
As these students transition into clinical practice, where they will contribute thousands of hours of behavioral health focused care annually, they carry a unique set of skills that prioritize human connection and psychological support alongside medical expertise. This commitment reinforces Wichita State’s role as a leader in holistic education, ensuring that the next generation of healthcare providers can model resiliency and stress tolerance for the patients they serve.
About Wichita State University
Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 25,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry- and defense-funded engineering R&D and No. 9 overall for engineering R&D.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
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