Master of Science in Pathologists Assistant

The Pathologists' Assistant (PathA) program at Drexel University College of Medicine offers traditional and non-traditional students the opportunity to train in the highly specialized field of anatomic pathology and earn a Master of Science degree. The two-year, full-time program begins in May of each year. The first year is the didactic portion of the program, supplemented by laboratory exposure. The second year is the clinical education portion of the program, composed of several hospital-based rotations offering progressively responsible experience in autopsy pathology, forensic pathology pediatric pathology and surgical pathology. These rotations are supplemented with informal classroom education and examinations conducted monthly at the University.Graduates of the Master of Science in Pathologists' Assistant program will achieve seven program level outcomes that describe the skills, competencies and knowledge gained through completion of the program curriculum.Demonstrate the ability to prepare, describe and dissect human tissue surgical specimens including appropriate specimen accessioning, describing gross anatomic features, preparing tissues for histologic processing and photographing all pertinent gross findingsDemonstrate the ability to perform duties relating to the administrative maintenance of surgical pathology protocols, reports and data and assuring the completion of specimen coding and billingDemonstrate laboratory maintenance skills including assuring proper maintenance of equipment, provision of adequate supplies, and cleanliness of the surgical pathology suiteDemonstrate knowledge of the procedures associated with the preparation of human postmortem examinations including ascertaining proper legal authorization for autopsy, retrieving the patient's medical chart and other pertinent data for review with the attending pathologist(s); and coordinating any requests for special specimen sampling

A bachelors degree from an accredited US college or university or an international equivalentPrerequisite coursework with grades of C or above must include biology microbiology human anatomy human physiology general chemistry organic chemistry andor biochemistry mathematics and English composition Labbased science courses are requiredOnline courses are not accepted as prerequisites however applications from students required to take online prerequisite courses as a result of the pandemic Spring 2020Fall 2021 will be consideredA cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to be competitiveOfficial General Graduate Record Examination GRE scores at or above the 50th percentile on all sections Official Medical College Admission Test MCAT scores at or above the 50th percentile on all sections are also acceptedPrevious exposure to pathology is recommended via work or shadowing experiences