Somewhere between oceans and home |
|
|
|
|
| Htet Htet Lin, M.D., chief resident, 2025-2026 |
For someone who moved alone across oceans for ambition, values, freedom and justice, all is well.
Or at least, that was what I told myself.
Like many international medical graduates, I arrived carrying dreams larger than my fears. There was excitement in building a new life, but also the quiet and often unseen
|
|
|
|
burden of immigration such as visas, uncertainty, adaptation, distance from family and the constant pressure to keep moving forward while trying to find where you belong.
Yet amidst all the unfamiliarity, there were also moments that felt deeply aligned with who I was becoming or who I once imagined. Reading on the subway during my commute, sipping a latte in a café on a quiet Saturday morning, lying on the park lawn, studying late at a library or café and safely commuting back home, writing on a plane like a writer – these were what I called my “mini-dreams” that did come true. Small moments, perhaps, but the ones that made me smile.
Training in psychiatry as a foreign-born physician brought its own distinctive challenges and strengths. Psychiatry is not only science; it is language, nuance, silence, emotion, culture and human connection. It is an art of understanding people in their most vulnerable moments. Practicing psychiatry in a second language means constantly navigating subtleties that many may never notice, finding the right words to comfort, to ask difficult questions, to build trust, and to sit with suffering while translating both language and culture in real time. It also brings the ability to connect across differences, tolerance, flexibility and steadiness in uncertain situations, and appreciation of what the new world offers with lived experience of the old one.
There were moments I questioned myself, moments I felt behind, misunderstood, exhausted, divided between multiple worlds, and sat in discomfort with uncertainty. Through those experiences, I learned that resilience is often quiet. It is not always loud achievement or visible strength. Sometimes it is continuing to show up with compassion while carrying unseen burdens of your own.
My experiences as an immigrant have also been shaped by the realities of the world beyond hospital walls. Coming from a country affected by military regime, civilian resistance, ongoing revolution and civil war has influenced the way I see people, suffering, peace and humanity. It has taught me not to take meeting basic human needs – food, water, shelter and safety – for granted. It has also shifted kindness from a natural quality to a conscious choice.
Looking back now as a chief resident, I feel grateful not only for professional growth, but for the people who made this journey gentler – my family, friends, mentors, colleagues, faculty, seniors, juniors, support staff, patients and moments of unexpected grace along the way.
In medicine, especially in difficult times, we often speak about endurance, productivity and excellence. I do hope we continue to speak just as much about compassion, gratitude, and peace. Achievements matter, and so does the kind of person we remain while pursuing them. Striving for betterment matters, and so does pausing to acknowledge what we have done, to take pride in who we are, and to name the contributions we offer each day. Accountability and feedback matter, and so does seeing each other’s value and telling one another how grateful we are for what we each bring to this shared work.
Somewhere between adaptation, uncertainty, language, loss and growth, this place slowly became home.
|
|
|
Best regards,
Htet Htet Lin, M.D.
|
| |
|
New digital mental health program reaching out to rural Kansas |
|
|
|
With mental health workers in short supply across rural Kansas, a program that allows people diagnosed with depression to receive help online is being launched and studied for effectiveness.
The Program in Digital Mental Health is a joint effort between the KU School of Medicine-Wichita Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and the KU Center for Telemedicine & Telehealth, directed by Shawna Wright, Ph.D., in Kansas City.
“It is primarily an effort to increase access to effective mental health supports in rural Kansas,” said Matt Byerly, M.D., who is program director and serves in several faculty positions at KU Wichita. “And because there’s so much challenge in having available a mental health workforce in rural regions, this becomes a partial solution for that challenge.”
|
|
| |
|
Resident and trainee graduates |
The 2026 graduation ceremony took place Friday, June 5, at the National Institute for Culinary and Hospitality Education in Wichita, where we celebrated the accomplishments of the psychiatry residents, addiction medicine fellow, and the psychology fellows and interns. |
|
|
|
Jana Lincoln, M.D., director of residency training, recognized the following graduating fourth-year residents:
Hiba Abualama, M.D.
Gilmar Costa, M.D.
Htet Htet Lin, M.D.
David Matuszewski, M.D.
Alisha Sapkota, M.D.
Amy Terry, M.D.
The psychiatry residency program graduates have gone on to practice across the country. Hiba Abualama, M.D., will be working for a group medical practice in Wichita; Gilmar Costa, M.D., works as a psychiatrist in Cary, North Carolina; Htet Htet Lin, M.D., will be working for a group medical practice in California; David Matuszewski, M.D., will be completing his final year of psychiatry residency training with us; Alisha Sapkota, M.D., is working for a group medical practice in California, and Amy Terry, M.D., is working for the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita.
|
|
|
|
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellows |
Cassie Karlsson, M.D., director of the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, recognized the graduating class of child and adolescent psychiatry fellows:
Nisha Brunson, D.O.
Brittni Plato, M.D.
The Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship graduates have both pursued employment or further training in the Wichita area. Nisha Brunson, D.O., works for a medical practice in Wichita and Brittni Plato, M.D., will be completing her final year of psychiatry residency training with us.
|
|
|
Addiction Medicine fellow
|
Ashley Haynes, M.D., recognized a historic milestone for the Addiction Medicine Fellowship program: its inaugural graduate, Luke Rosebraugh, M.D.
After becoming the first physician to graduate from KU School of Medicine-Wichita’s Addiction Medicine Fellowship, Luke Rosebraugh, M.D., is continuing to break new ground as the Hutchinson area’s first full-time addiction medicine specialist.
“There are a lot of different facilities and organizations up here involved with care for people who are in addiction or recovery, but as far as I can tell, there’s not a dedicated addiction medicine physician,” Rosebraugh said.
Rosebraugh, who completed the one-year fellowship in June, hopes to help expand addiction care across the region served by Hutchinson’s medical community.
|
|
| |
|
Psychology interns & fellows |
Joshua Matyi, Ph.D., and Nicole Klaus, Ph.D., recognized the following on the completion of their training:
Amy Briggs, Ph.D., neuropsychology internship
Erah Ali, Ph.D., clinical child psychology fellowship
Kari Barnes, M.A., clinical child psychology internship
Jonathon Larson, Ph.D., clinical child psychology internship
The psychology fellows and interns have gone on to practice across the country. Erah Ali, Ph.D., will be working as a staff psychologist at Children's Mercy Hospital in Wichita. Amy Briggs, Ph.D., will continue her study as a postdoctoral resident with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. Kari Barnes, M.A., completed her clinical child psychology internship with us and we are delighted to keep her this year as she pursues her fellowship in clinical child psychology; and Jonathan Larson, Ph.D., will continue his study as a postdoctoral fellow at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
|
|
|
The following award recipients were recognized:
Htet Htet Lin, M.D.; Nisha Brunson, D.O.; Luke Rosebraugh, M.D., Resident Council Certificate of Service
Dalton Doyle, D.O., Medical Student Resident Teacher of the Year
Laura Dandridge, D.O., Medical Student Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow Teacher of the Year
Austin Armstrong, M.D., Medical Student Faculty Teacher of the Year
Tayita Abudu, Amelia Douglas, Alicia Farino, Namie Fotion, Maggie Ziegler, Klingenstein Medical Student Fellow Graduates
Nisha Brunson, D.O., Brittni Plato, M.D., Chief Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow Recognition
Sandhya Mainali, M.D., Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Faculty
Teacher of the Year
Ashley Haynes, M.D., Addiction Medicine Faculty Teacher of the Year
Dalton Doyle, D.O., Emily Everhart, D.O., Laurie Coyner, M.D. Award for Excellence in Adult Inpatient Care
Rojal Rijal, M.D., Award for Excellence in Outpatient Care in the third-year clinic
Alisha Sapkota, M.D., Award for Excellence in Outpatient Care
in the fourth-year clinic
Htet Htet Lin, M.D., Outstanding Grand Rounds Presentation
Htet Htet Lin, M.D., Chief Resident Recognition
Emily Everhart, D.O., Tyler Weibelt, M.D., Associate Chief Resident Recognition
Christopher Siler, M.D., Inpatient Faculty Teacher of the Year, as voted by the psychiatry residents
Kenneth Fraser, M.D., Outpatient Faculty Teacher of the Year, as voted by the psychiatry residents
Emily Everhart, D.O., Resident Team Player of the Year Award
Connie Marsh, M.D., Most Valuable Player
Sheldon Preskorn, M.D., Pinnacle Award for Inspirational & Distinguished Lifetime Commitment to Psychiatry & Resident Education
|
|
|
|
Welcome new psychiatry residents, child and adolescent psychiatry fellows, addictions fellow, and psychology trainees. |
|
|
|
We would like to extend a warm welcome to the incoming psychiatry residents, psychology fellows and interns, in addition to the third class of child and adolescent psychiatry fellows, and the second-ever addiction medicine fellow. |
|
|
|
Rafael Carvalho, M.D., resident
|
|
| Alice Fidelis, M.D., resident
|
|
| Adam McNeil, M.D., resident
|
|
| Aadil Shah, M.D., resident
|
|
|
|
John Woods, M.D., resident
|
|
| Pete Haynes, M.D., CAP fellow
|
|
| Christopher Barnard, D.O., CAP fellow
|
|
| Tyler Weibelt, M.D., CAP fellow
|
|
|
|
Seth Chauhan, M.D., addiction medicine fellow
|
|
| Laresa Coles, B.A., clinical child psychology intern
|
|
| Kaitlyn Hnetkovsky, M.A., clinical child psychology intern
|
|
| Kari Barnes, M.A., clinical child psychology fellow
|
|
|
|
Marina Brunner, M.S., neuropsychology intern
|
|
|
Ryan Gardiner, M.A., neuropsychology fellow
|
|
| | |
|
| Laura Tatpati, M.D., and Tyler Weibelt, M.D.
|
|
|
|
Congratulations to our faculty and resident who were recognized at the inaugural Golden Keeper Banquet & Awards ceremony on April 18 in downtown Wichita. The following were recognized:
|
- Austin Armstrong, M.D., Outstanding Faculty Award
- Tyler Weibelt, M.D., Outstanding Resident
|
|
|
|
Faculty and staff from the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences attended a conference hosted by KSKidsMAP, bringing together healthcare professionals from across Kansas to strengthen collaboration and improve care coordination for children and families. Among the participants was Cassie Karlsson, M.D., associate professor and KSKidsMAP neurodevelopment team lead, who joined specialists from multiple disciplines in fostering a stronger community of care that supports referrals, diagnosis and ongoing treatment.
|
|
| Cassie Karlsson, M.D., speaks during the KSKidsMAP conference, with attendees pictured below.
|
|
|
|
Jessica Stumpe, Psy.D., was selected to present at the Kansas Maternal Mortality Prevention Conference and co-lead a PSI Kansas webinar focused on the assessment and treatment of perinatal self-harm.
Nicole Klaus, Ph.D., and Zachary Blackhurst, Ph.D., led the fourth summer of the BREATHE program, offering a therapeutic alternative to medication for children with symptoms of ADHD.
|
|
|
|
| Janae Carter
Communicator editor
1010 N. Kansas
Wichita, KS 67214
316-293-3542
|
|
|
|
|
Follow us on social media! |
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU/KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@Ku.edu, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Dole Human Development Center, Suite 1082, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY.
|
|
|
|
Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
|
1010 N Kansas St | Wichita, KS 67214 US
|
|
|
|
|
