Tulane University School of Medicine has officially welcomed a new cohort to its Pathologists’ Assistant Program, one of only 15 accredited programs in North America and the only one in Louisiana. The two-year full-time program prepares students for advanced practice roles in anatomic pathology.
Program director Darryl Duncan said that both regional need and the broader healthcare landscape drove the decision to reactivate the program.
“I view it as something that’s important for New Orleans, important for healthcare overall,” Duncan said. “We play a big role in being physician extenders and [helping] with the efficiency of hospitals and healthcare in general.”
The program, housed in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, will enroll between eight and 12 students per cohort. Its curriculum includes one year of intensive classroom instruction and one year of clinical training.
Genevieve Burguieres, senior program coordinator, said Tulane’s location in the South makes the program especially important.
“The program is really beneficial to have here at Tulane, especially for the amount of diversity that we provide,” Burguieres said. “We capture an applicant pool that wasn’t able to advance in this profession otherwise, so it’s been very valuable.”
One of the program’s defining features is its tight-knit cohort model. This year’s class includes 10 students, with plans to expand to 12 in future cycles. Burguieres described the immediate camaraderie among the new cohort, including a moment she offered to help them set up a group chat, only to learn they had already created one on their own.
“You’re going to leave here with nine to 11 really good friends and forever connections, and that’s just your students,” Burguieres said. “There’s faculty, there’s the leadership … to expand your communities.”
During the first year, students complete coursework in gross anatomy, human histology, physiology, surgical pathology and general and systemic pathology. During clinical rotations, students train at partner sites across the country in areas such as surgical pathology, autopsy pathology, forensic pathology, hematopathology and pediatric pathology.
Although the program does not require graduates to pass an external certification exam to receive their degree, Tulane reports consistently strong outcomes among students who choose to sit for the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification examination. Recent cohorts achieved a 100% pass rate from 2022 to 2024, alongside a 100% workforce placement rate.
Duncan encouraged prospective applicants to shadow established pathologists and pathologists’ assistants before applying to the program. He said that for those who find the field is right for them, the work is deeply rewarding.
“What I really like with surgical pathology is the variety of things that we’re seeing day to day,” Duncan said. “For us, it’s kind of like a puzzle figuring out what we really need to show the pathologist, what’s going to be important for them to make an important diagnosis on a case.”