From classroom to clinical literature: UNT Health’s SteadFAST journal gains ground in second volume

At UNT Health, a student journal born as an ambitious experiment is beginning to look more like an institution.

The second volume of SteadFAST, the academic journal produced by the university’s physician assistant program, signals a shift from novelty to permanence, faculty members and contributors say. Each student in the program completes a master’s capstone project, which includes a professional-level case study. However, only a select few are chosen for publication.

The journal’s second iteration comes not only a new collection of student-authored case reports, but also the infrastructure that allows those contributions to live on in the broader scientific record.

“The second volume actually allows us to get an [electronic international standard serial number], which is great because that means that we can now get a permanent location for the articles and the journal,” said Dr. Vic Holmes, a faculty member who oversees the publication. “We’re searchable, so we’re part of the body of evidence available to all clinicians.”

For Holmes, the distinction matters. What began as a platform to showcase student work has evolved into a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that contributes to medical knowledge beyond campus. Articles are now assigned digital object identifiers, allowing authors and reviewers to receive formal academic credit for their work.

“It’s not just a flash in the pan,” Holmes said. “It’s a more permanent installation.”

That permanence is paired with accessibility. The journal is published through the university library as an open-access resource, meaning clinicians, students and researchers can read the case reports without a paywall. In a field where access to research can often be costly, Holmes said, that openness helps extend the journal’s reach and impact.

From the student perspective, the journal offers something equally valuable: a first entry point into scholarly publishing.

“It gives them an outlet for the work that they’ve been doing to highlight the cases that they’ve been seeing,” Holmes said. “Their case reports are outstanding. They clearly reflect the high quality of care that our PA students are providing in their clinical settings.”

For recent graduates like Madeline Lassman, that outlet transformed what might have been a routine academic requirement into a formative professional experience.

“I think it means a lot,” Lassman said of the journal. “I think it shows that our program really invests time and effort into their students.”

Her article focused on a relatively new treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease, examining the use of a magnetic device designed to prevent acid reflux in patients with underlying hiatal hernias. The project, she said, pushed her to think more critically during clinical rotations.

“Every patient I was encountering, I was thinking about through the lens of what medical problems do they have that led them to be here,” Lassman said. “It just kind of propels us into starting to think more complex and critically in that clinical phase.”

That shift in mindset, she added, is not always typical in physician assistant education, where research can take a back seat to clinical training.

“A lot of the times with PA programs, I feel like research isn’t as heavily emphasized,” Lassman said. “So I just think it goes to show that our program really pushes PA students to be the best versions of themselves.”

Pablo Perez, another contributor, described a similar experience. His case report stemmed from a patient he encountered during the first week of his initial clinical rotation — an uncommon presentation that quickly became the foundation of his research.

“It was a cool experience just going through the whole publication process,” Perez said. “It gives students this kind of outlet to show it to their peers or their professors.”

Perez said the process also deepened his engagement with the material, as he followed the patient’s progress and conducted additional research.

“I was really invested in the topic at hand,” he said. “That made me just more interested.”

Like Lassman, he emphasized the broader value of the journal as a learning tool.

“It gives them a sense of purpose,” Perez said. “It speaks a lot to the commitment that they have of growing the community and empowering their students.”

As SteadFAST enters its second iteration, that sense of purpose appears to be expanding. What began as a student project now carries the markers of a professional publication — peer review, academic indexing and a growing archive of clinical insight.

For Holmes, the goal is not only to sustain the journal, but to ensure it continues to reflect the program’s strengths.

“They clearly reflect the high quality of care that our PA students are providing,” he said. “That’s going to translate into how our PA students are excelling at taking care of the general populations.”

With a second volume now published, SteadFAST is no longer simply a proving ground for students. It is, increasingly, a contribution to the field itself.