August 18, 2020

Pathologists’ assistant program earns one of four WSU Assessment Grants

A Wayne State University Program Assessment grant will help faculty in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Master of Science in Pathologists’ Assistant program develop and pilot two new assessments to meet an accreditation requirement related to their psychomotor skills learning outcome. The grant – one of only four awarded across the university ­– was earned by collaborating colleagues Lou Kramer, pathologists’ assistant program director, and Dongping Shi, associate professor of pathology in the School of Medicine. Shi also serves as medical director for the pathologists’ assistant program.

WSU Program Assessment Grants, awarded by the Office of the Provost, promote best practices in program-level assessment of student learning outcomes and student services programs’ goals. Priority goes to proposals with multiple active participants that introduce innovative or experimental approaches to direct assessment or improved practice in student learning outcomes or student services program goals assessment at the program level, especially those that might serve as models for other programs.

“The selected projects stood out for their clear focus on student learning through improvement to core program assessment practices; concrete plans for extending the impact of the project beyond its core participants and beyond the grant period; and high potential for a significant impact on students, faculty, and staff,” wrote Provost Keith Whitfield in an email announcing the awards.

The grant will expand the features of recently upgraded pathologists' assistant bone pathology and dissection lab in the Mortuary Science Building, adding a specific assessment instrument in the clinical year to determine the efficacy of the new laboratory module simulations, and how students are implementing, correlating and translating the new skill set to the clinical setting. Skill in bone saw operation increases the entry-level skill set of graduates.

Funding from the WSU Program Assessment Grant will allow the pathologists’ assistant program to create and deliver two assessment instruments: One to measure students’ skill in the operation of a bone saw during clinical rotations; and one to measure clinical preceptor confidence level in students’ skill.

Data collected will help the program determine if the academic bone simulation modules are sufficient to provide the necessary psychomotor skills to effectively operate bone saws in the clinical year, and if and where there is a need to modify curriculum and assessment practices to incorporate new technical measures and outcomes.

Established in 1989, the Wayne State University Master of Science in Pathologists' Assistant program is one of 13 programs in the United States and Canada that trains students in the highly specialized field of anatomic pathology. The next application deadline is January 21, 2021.

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