Health and Human Services News

A powerful partnership to create an autism center of tomorrow

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Tim Dygon, executive vice president at Arc of the Ozarks and Letitia White-Minnis, associate dean of the McQueary College of Health and Human Services, discuss what the partnership will do for the community in the present and in the future. 

“This all started with a conversation and a dream,” Dygon said. “We’re now all working together to open a large-scale autism and neuro-developmental center that will provide autism evaluations and screenings, as well as ongoing therapies.” 

“It always starts small. It always starts with an idea and a discussion. We know that if we continue to have strong partners like Missouri State and Mercy at the table, we’ll have great ideas that will grow into something incredible.” 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE

Missouri State student receives national recognition

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Cassidy McCandless, MS, RD, is the sole champion of the 2022 PAS Student of the Year, determined by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).  

McCandless received this honor in May 2022 at a conference attended by hundreds of PA students and professionals from across the nation. 

When she initially had been told that she won, McCandless couldn’t believe that it was real. 

“I was on campus in one of the study rooms. I returned a missed phone call from a random number and was convinced there had been a mistake.” 

The first person she called to share the news? Her PAS advisor, Nathan Miracle. 

“I had been stressing out about the whole process for so long and all the while he was in my corner, constantly cheering me on,” McCandless said. “So were my family and friends, of course, but my advisor had a front-row seat the entire time.” 

One out of 10,000 

The AAPA PA Student of the Year is chosen at the end of a lengthy selection process. 

In order to be considered, students must: 

  1. Be nominated by a faculty member or peer. 
  2. Get contacted from someone from the AAPA.  
  3. Submit information, including a resume, details of volunteer experience, two short essays about the future of the PA profession, as well as describing where you see yourself fitting into the profession. 

There are over 280 PAS programs throughout the United States with the average class size being roughly 30 students per program. In any given year, there are about 10,000 PAS students per class. 

“There are so many unique and talented people within our program. It easily could’ve been someone else,” McCandless humbly stated.

“I’m in no way the best PAS student. I just happened to meet the requirements for the AAPA board’s criteria and had some luck. With that being said, I’m thankful that I was chosen.” 

Meeting her fans 

The craziest thing to happen since being chosen? The recognition she’s received within her local and PA community.  

“My friends came up to me and told me that I was on the front page of a local newspaper,” McCandless shared. “I had no idea where to even buy a newspaper. I found a stack at my nearest gas station and ended up buying three because I was so excited.” 

McCandless was also rendered speechless upon meeting Hayley Arceneaux, one of her idols. Arceneaux was the medical officer on the 2021 SpaceX flight, an astronaut PA, and the youngest American to fly in space. 

Her future in the PA profession  

With this prestigious honor under her belt, McCandless has had many new doors open to benefit her career as a PA. 

“I’ve been contacted by so many people and presented with some amazing job and volunteer opportunities after being recognized for this award.” 

McCandless began her medical career as a dietician. Her hope is to blend her new career as a PA with her background in dietetics. 

“Everybody always assumes that if you change professions, there’s something wrong with it. But for me, it was the opposite. I want to further my impact to reach a larger community.” McCandless said. “I wanted to learn more and become more involved with patient care.” 

The AAPA Student of the Year award gave McCandless the platform she needed to shed light on the issues with nutrition in healthcare, as well as the need for greater diversity within the world of medicine. 

“Becoming a PA allows me to share my nutrition background with my colleagues and patients,” McCandless said. “I hope to open the door for a more nutritious approach to medicine.” 

Learn more about the PAS program 

Panel: How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted women and communities of color

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Join a presentation from the MCHHS diversity, equity and inclusion council on Zoom at 3:30 p.m. March 26.

The panel will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected women and communities of color. They will also provide resources to combat these disparities.

Register

Zoom Meeting ID: 948 4263 9049

Panelists include:

MCHHS forms student diversity council

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Before the start of the 2020-21 school year, the McQueary College of Health and Human Services (MCHHS) at Missouri State University established new diversity and inclusion initiatives.  

One such initiative was the formation of a student diversity council, representing MCHHS student voices and concerns. It is now officially up and running.  

“A lot of what we’ve done in the past regarding diversity and inclusion has been faculty and staff driven, with little input from the students” said Dr. Ashley Payne, assistant professor of psychology and faculty advisor for the student council.  

Read more about the faculty council 

“The formation of this council encourages students to voice their concerns, which then helps the faculty council implement necessary changes.”  

Student council mission 

The student diversity council has two ideas that drive its work:  

  • Everyone is an individual with value. 
  • The council exists to drive solutions.  

“We can sit and discuss things for hours, but unless we come up with solutions, we aren’t promoting real change,” said Carsten Warner, co-chair of the student council.  

Since the council is newly formed, the group of about 20 students is still in the process of determining specific functions. But it has some ideas.  

The council is working with the office for institutional equity and compliance to create a forum for students to express concerns. The plan is for both the equity office and the student council to monitor the forum and act when a student voices a concern.  

 It also wants to host community town hall discussions, contribute to GEP diversity curriculum and help implement diversity training and education in MCHHS departments without it.  

“Curriculum changes take time,” Payne said. “But it’s something we’re striving for and that we think is important across the college.”  

Forming the council and looking forward 

The leaders of each MCHHS department nominated the students on the council, in an effort to have representation from every department in the college.  

Warner and Derek Rowe volunteered to serve as co-chairs.  

“After we pulled together the nominations, the students took charge,” Payne said. “We wanted them to be the driving force behind everything the council does.”  

Warner and Rowe come from opposite backgrounds when it comes to diversity. Rowe grew up in diverse California. Warner grew up in a small town where most people looked the same and had similar experiences.  

But their convictions to celebrate and encourage diversity are the same.  

“I know what it looks like when diverse opinions and experiences aren’t taken into account, and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen here,” Warner said.  

The council also believes it can implement lasting change in the college, which it hopes will promote diversity in the healthcare industry as a whole.  

“Bias and stereotyping in the healthcare industry can affect the way a person receives treatment,” Rowe said. “People in healthcare hold others’ lives in their hands, so the need for diversity training and education at the ground level is that much more important.”