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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2023
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Instructional Technology
First Advisor
Monica Tracey
Abstract
A survey of Board-Certified Forensic Pathologists (BCFP) and of NAACLS-accredited, US-based Pathologists’ Assistant programs provided data for a needs assessment of the current Pathologists’ Assistant curriculum to take place and ascertain if PAs have the necessary knowledge and skills set to ameliorate the current workload of BCFPs and potentially decreased the workforce shortages. Grounded in the theoretical constructs of Systems Theory and Activity Theory, this needs assessment obtained diverse stakeholder perspectives, and examined contextual factors that uncovered gaps in the current knowledge and skills training necessary for Pathologists’ Assistants to practice in the forensic setting. These gaps will require a revision of didactic and clinical training curriculum to ensure that sufficient hands-on, and independent practice of pre-autopsy, autopsy, and post-autopsy tasks are made available to PA students as they rotate through their experiential rotations.
Recommended Citation
Mendes-Kramer, Veralucia, "A Crisis Is Looming: How A Needs Assessment Of The Pathologists’ Assistant Curriculum May Be The Answer To Decreasing The Forensic Pathologist Workload And Workforce Shortages" (2023). Wayne State University Dissertations. 3929.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/3929