This program follows all School of Medicine policies in addition to the policies below.

Procedure When Applied Experience Cannot Be Guaranteed

The Duke School of Medicine and the Pathologists’ Assistant Program will, to the best of its ability, strive to provide all clinical rotations as outlined. We reserve the right to add or deactivate specific courses or clinical affiliates as needed by program demands or the requirements of the clinical affiliate site itself. Students may not rotate through all affiliate sites, and site assignment is at the discretion of the program director.

Matriculated students are guaranteed that they will be given the opportunity to complete the entire curriculum and receive the master of health science degree and institutional certificate of completion if the program should unexpectedly be discontinued for any reason.

Attendance and Excused Absences

Students are required to attend all mandatory events, which may include lectures, laboratories, seminars, and clinical assignments. Absences are excused only for illness or personal emergency, and students must notify course coordinators and program faculty in advance of an expected absence. Absences of one to two days duration for professional purposes during the second year are allowed with the approval of the program director, and individual clinical rotation coordinators.

Registration and Drop/Add Policy

Registration in the Pathologists’ Assistant Program is offered on a full-time basis only and part-time enrollment is not allowed. All required course registrations are processed in the Office of the Registrar for the School of Medicine. As the program is only offered full-time, and all courses are mandatory, dropping and adding courses is not permitted. Transfer of students from other programs is not permitted.

Program Policies and Grading Standards

Grades for courses and clinical rotations in the pathologists’ assistant curriculum are assigned on the basis of the following: H (honors), P (pass), L (low pass), and F (fail). Exceptions are PATHASST 103 (Foundations of Patient Care 1), PATHASST 102 (Foundations of Patient Care 2), PATHASST 302 (Forensic Pathology), PATHASST 340-341 (Photography 1-2), PATHASST 361-362 (Pathologic Basis of Clinical Medicine), and PATHASST 390 (Senior Seminar) which are graded as either P (pass) or F (fail) and PATHASST 222 (Introduction to Surgical Pathology-VAMC) which is graded as P (pass), L (low pass), and F (fail). Honors in any didactic course is defined as an overall average score of 90 percent and an overall average score of less than 70 percent constitutes failure.

Grades for courses and rotations are H (honors), P (pass), LP (low pass), F (fail), and I (incomplete). The determination of what performance equates with what grade is up to the individual instructor and course although for written examination a minimum of 70 percent is usually required to pass. Two grades of LP results in academic probation, and will require the student to complete remediation before progression to the next semester’s courses. A single grade of F can result in dismissal from the program.

Many rotations and courses also use subjective means of evaluation such as direct observation of the student’s work, student participation, and evaluation of written materials. In all rotations, evaluations of performance are written and grades are derived from these evaluations.

The program is designed to integrate classroom and clinical learning experiences considered necessary for competency as health care providers and each course in the curriculum is required. Therefore, the failure of any course in which the student is unable to successfully remediate will ultimately result in withdrawal from the program. Determination of satisfactory academic progress is made by the program director upon advisement of the program advisory committee.

The advisory committee will evaluate all student deficiencies and will invite the student to a hearing. The student has the option of including a faculty member or fellow student in the hearing. The decision made by the advisory committee is sent to the program director, who will evaluate and accept, reject or modify the recommendations from the committee. The student has the benefit of appeal to the dean of the School of Medicine. An appeal to the dean may only be made on the grounds of improper procedures in the appeals process rather than continued disagreement regarding the outcome of the process. The dean will review the data related to the process of the appeal and determine whether the process was valid. If the process is found to be valid, the decision is final and binding. If the process is found to be invalid, a new review panel will be convened.

Students in the Pathologists’ Assistant Program are participants in a professional training program whose graduates assume positions of high responsibility as health care providers. Students are therefore evaluated not only on their academic performance and technical skills, but on their professional conduct. These evaluations will be in a written form as part of the general clinical rotation summaries. Deficiencies in professional conduct may result in academic probation; repeated episodes or patterns of misconduct may result in suspension or dismissal from the program. The Office of the Registrar in the School of Medicine will be notified of the student’s status of academic probation or suspension and the status will be noted on the student’s transcript at the completion of the semester(s) during which the status is assigned. If the student successfully returns to good academic standing from academic probation, the statement will be removed; if the student is suspended, however, the statement will remain permanently on the transcript.

Remediation

Students who initially receive a failing grade in any course must undergo a remediation process as defined by the individual course instructor and approved by the program director. Successful remediation will result in the student receiving a P (pass). Unsuccessful remediation will result in academic probation, with additional remediation and academic counseling required. If these additional steps are unsuccessful, failure will result and the student will be withdrawn from the program.

Appeals of Course Grades

A student may appeal a course grade by writing the course coordinator and program director, providing factual evidence for changing the final course grade. Appeals will be considered individually on their merits and will not be considered precedent. The program director will notify the student in writing of the appeal decision within three weeks of the appeal.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory academic progress consists of the receipt of a passing grade in all didactic and practical courses and is defined as follows:

Year One: Completion of all required courses and rotations (a total of 42 course credits) during the fall, spring, and summer within the scheduled semester.

Year Two: Completion of all clinical rotations, courses, and a senior seminar during the fall, spring and summer rotations (a total of 51 course credits) within the scheduled semester.

In unusual circumstances (illness or academic remediation) the determination of satisfactory progress is made by the program director.

Appeals of Academic Status (Academic Probation or Withdrawal)

A student placed on academic probation or withdrawal from the program may appeal by indicating in writing to the program director reasons why he/she/they did not achieve minimum academic standards and factual evidence for changing the academic standing. Appeals will be considered individually on their merits and will not be considered as precedent. The program director will notify the student of the decision of the appeal in writing within three weeks of receipt of the appeal.

Leave of Absence

A pathologists’ assistant student, after presenting a written request to the program director, may be granted an official leave of absence for personal, medical, or academic reasons for a period not to exceed one calendar year. If the leave of absence is approved, the program director provides written notification including applicable beginning and ending dates to the student, the medical school registrar and the director of financial aid. The student must notify the program director in writing of his/her/their wish to return to the program at least sixty calendar days prior to the stated date of re-entry. When a leave of absence is taken, the program director may require the student to repeat some or all of the courses completed prior to the leave of absence. In all cases of leave of absence, the student is required to complete the entire curriculum to be eligible to earn the master of health science degree and the pathologists’ assistant institutional certificate.

Return From Leave of Absence

Returning students who must complete degree requirements off-schedule from their entering cohort are required to meet all degree requirements as established at time of program completion for the cohort to which the student is joined. Following are general guidelines for return from leave of absence; individual situations may be addressed in a more detailed manner at the discretion of the program administration. For students who have withdrawn after the sixth week of a semester, tuition will be waived for the equivalent term when the student returns. For students who withdrew from the first to the sixth week, tuition will be charged according to the schedule below. The student is responsible for all other University/program fees for the returning term regardless of the timing of the withdrawal. Students completing off-schedule should contact the Office of Financial Aid regarding continued eligibility for federal education loans.

Withdrawal

If a student withdraws, including involuntary withdrawal for academic reasons, tuition may be prorated according to the following schedule:

Before classes begin:	100%
During first or second week:	80%
During third to fifth week:	60%
During the sixth week:	20%
After sixth week:	None

Student fees are nonrefundable after classes begin.

Historically, voluntary withdrawals are initiated at the request of the student. Working with the program director, a mutual decision is reached with regard to the effective date of the withdrawal and any academic penalty to be assessed. Per letter, the program director will notify the Offices of the Registrar and Financial Aid in the School of Medicine. The Office of the Registrar will process the withdrawal and remove the student from any current and/or future enrollments. The Office of Financial Aid may revoke any financial aid that has been disbursed. The student should also contact these offices to ensure the student has fulfilled all responsibilities with regard to this process. The student’s permanent academic record will reflect that they were enrolled for the term and that they withdrew on the specific effective date.

Code of Professional Conduct

Students enrolled in the Duke Pathologists’ Assistant Program are expected to adhere to the Duke University School of Medicine Code of Professional conduct as detailed in the policies for all School of Medicine programs found elsewhere in this bulletin.

The study of medicine is not a pure intellectual exercise. Rather, a specific set of minimal physical, mental, emotional, and social abilities are needed to be a successful student. Students must possess all of the abilities listed in the five Technical Standards. The use of an intermediary that would, in effect, require a student to rely on someone else’s power of observation and/or communication will not be permitted.

Degree Requirements

Passage of 93 course credits of graduate coursework is required for the MHS degree and a certificate of completion at the end of the program. There is a mandatory, comprehensive, oral seminar presentation reviewed by a panel of pathology department faculty and staff which all students must pass for successful completion of the program.

Commencement and Certificate Award

The Pathologists’ Assistant student must successfully complete 93 course credits, including all scheduled courses, clinical rotations, and the Senior Seminar, by the end of July in order to receive the master of health science degree and institutional certification of completion, and be eligible to sit for the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification Examination. Granting of the degree and certificate is not contingent upon the students passing any type of external certification or licensure examination.

A-PTA-MHS - Master of Health Sciences Pathologists' Assistant

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