Photo By Jorge Gomez | The next generation of medical providers gets a firsthand look at military healthcare...... read more read more
When Matthew Ruether arrived at Irwin Army Community Hospital for the first day of his clinical rotation as a Kansas State University physician assistant student, he expected to gain experience.
He did not expect to reconsider his future.
“Had I not had this opportunity, I don’t know if I would ever seek employment in the military,” Ruether said. “For me, this is about determining if my personality and work ethic mesh with the values associated with the Army and IACH itself.”
Ruether said what immediately stood out to him was the hospital’s clarity of purpose.
He explained that while the focus in civilian practice is on an individual's personal goals, his perception of IACH is that it’s driven by an additional question: Are we helping Soldiers meet the standard to deploy and serve? He stressed that this is the priority and concluded, "I think that's a strength of IACH."
Ruether is one of three KSU physician assistant students welcomed Feb. 23, marking the first time IACH has hosted PA students from Kansas State University. While the hospital has long served as a training platform through the Army’s Interservice Physician Assistant Program, the addition of civilian PA students reflects a growing clinical education mission.
Across the hospital and its clinics, students from multiple disciplines are currently completing rotations, including dental students from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, social work students from Wichita State University, the University of Kansas, Indiana Wesleyan University, and the University of Kentucky, as well as trainees in speech pathology, nursing, and psychiatric nurse practitioner programs.
“Students don’t just learn medicine here, they learn mission-focused medicine,” said MAJ Tiffany Massenburg, chief of Hospital Education & Training. “They see how clinical decisions affect readiness, how we coordinate care to return Soldiers to duty safely, and how every specialty contributes to the overall fight.”
That readiness-driven model is particularly visible in mental health.
“Mental health is foundational to readiness,” said MAJ Melissa A. Marcelli-Flint, program director of training for the Social Work Internship Program at IACH. “Every clinical touchpoint is an opportunity to mitigate risk and provide targeted support. By identifying stressors early, we ensure Soldiers remain valued-added members of their units with a clear sense of purpose and direction.”
Marcelli-Flint explained that social work students gain exposure to aspects of military medicine rarely encountered elsewhere.
“They learn how to assess Soldiers for fitness for duty and when to consult with commanders about risk and readiness,” she said. “They gain insight into military culture and chain of command, and they learn evidence-based, military-specific interventions that keep Soldiers in the fight while supporting families facing unique stressors.”
Students are not passive observers.
“They become active members of our interdisciplinary teams,” Marcelli-Flint said. “They contribute fresh perspectives and help provide the ‘village’ of support necessary to sustain Soldiers and their dependents, whether in garrison or deployed settings.”
For John Lunn, another PA student from KSU, the rotation represents a return to service in a new capacity. Lunn previously served six years in the Minnesota National Guard as an infantryman.
“It’s cool to be part of something again that has a single mission,” Lunn said. “The biggest thing is to support Soldiers and make sure they’re ready to fight and be ready for war. The civilian environment is rewarding too. It’s just different. I can understand how rewarding it would be to be part of this mission.”
For Maggie Nation, a KSU PA student, Kansas National Guard officer, and military spouse, the rotation offers both professional and personal insight.
“Particularly for me, this is showing me whether or not I want to pursue active duty as a PA,” Nation said. “I requested this rotation because I wanted to see how the scope of practice differs for an Army PA.”
Already a patient at IACH herself, Nation said seeing the system from behind the scenes has deepened her appreciation.
“It’s nice to see how busy they really are and how many families they care for in a day,” she said. “They have a hard job.”
For IACH leadership, hosting civilian students is not about immediate recruitment. There is no obligation for students to seek employment at the hospital.
But the exposure matters.
“When students rotate through IACH, they see how Army Medicine directly supports the 1st Infantry Division and their families,” said COL Laudino Castillo, IACH commander and cardiologist. “They witness how every diagnosis, every treatment plan, and every specialty contributes to combat readiness.”
Castillo emphasized that clinical excellence and readiness are inseparable.
“As a physician, I know that high-quality, timely care is the foundation of trust,” he said. “As a commander, I know that trust is what enables readiness. By investing in education and modern clinical training environments, we are strengthening both. We are shaping the healthcare leaders who will sustain readiness tomorrow for the Big Red One.”
As Irwin Army Community Hospital expands its education partnerships, it not only strengthens clinical capability, but also inspires the next generation of providers to consider a future in Army Medicine.
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2026 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 559271 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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