April 14th was National Pathologists’ Assistant Day 2026, and we’re shining a spotlight on Staff Pathologists’ Assistant (Path A) and Preceptor Nicole Tomsho, MS, PA(ASCP)CM, who joined Duke in July 2022. Tomsho is a staff Path A at Duke Pathology in Autopsy and Surgical Pathology.
“Nicole has a passion and enthusiasm that galvanizes our Surgical Pathology team, and we would be bereft without her, said Managing Path A Emily K. Wagner, MS, PA(ASCP)CM.
Aside from clinical work, a fair amount of her time at Duke is spent involved with the Path A Program. She gives numerous lectures on surgical pathology and autopsy to both first- and second-year students, as well as bench training on both services. She is also the course director for the PATHASST 390-Senior Seminar.
“Nicole has a knack for making the most complicated cases seem simple with her vast knowledge and experience base and just a touch of sass,” said Autopsy Path A Meridith Hennessey, MHS, PA(ASCP)CM. “Duke is incredibly lucky to have her, and I am blessed to have the joy of working with her and calling her my friend”.
After graduating from the University of Maryland-Baltimore in 2006, Tomsho began her career in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a Path A. She moved from there to Baltimore, Maryland, before landing in Pennsylvania, where she is originally from, and spent 10 years at Geisinger Medical Center. There she served as team leader/lead Path A of Surgical Pathology and Autopsy. During her tenure at Geisinger, she helped relaunch the Residency Program, provided extensive training to grossing techs and accessioning staff, and assisted with the integration of IT systems. In addition, Tomsho hosted a regional conference for Path As with the Mid-Atlantic Pathologists’ Assistants (MAPA), where she gave a presentation to her peers on specimen photography in surgical pathology. It was here that she fell in love with quality, process improvement, and workflow intricacies and nuances. She went on to co-author a chapter in the College of American Pathologists’ (CAP) Quality Management in Anatomic Pathology.
After leaving Geisinger in 2020, she did some travel and temporary work as a Path A with stops in Raleigh and Charlotte, NC; Bismarck, ND; Tampa, FL; and Flagstaff, AZ.
“I reached out about an open position at Duke in 2021, after having fallen in love with the area while here as temporary Path A at the University of North Carolina Health-Rex,” recalled Tomsho. “Mentoring and training Path A students was the last box to check on my career bucket list, and there is no better place to do that than here, where it all began.”
“Nicole is instrumental to the success of several of our courses in the Path A Program and is revered by the student cohorts and her colleagues”, said Path A Program Director Michelle P. Johnson, MHS, PA(ASCP)CM.
In 2024, Tomsho received the’ Pamela Vollmer Teaching Award. Each year, the graduating Pathologists’ Assistants class awards this honor to the individual whose knowledge, teaching, and professionalism have had the most positive impact on their training. It was said by the class at the time: “Nicole has made an inestimable contribution to not only our class, but to the Duke Pathology community throughout her time with the department, working to provide excellent patient care and improve the lives of our students and future leaders in this profession.”
Path A students have said the following about her:
“Nicole is my Path A hero. She is everything in a Path A that I could ever dream of being. She’s full of knowledge and has given me so much confidence in my skills in the short time I’ve spent with her in the lab. When I am feeling down on myself, she is able to cheer me up. Thank you for being a wonderful mentor.” ̶ Melissa Prescott, Path A student, class of 2026.
“Nicole has had such a positive impact on our class! She is incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about her work and teaching. Nicole always meets us where we are without judgment and challenges us to have an all-encompassing view of the specimens on our bench. She will ask us questions throughout all stages of grossing and breaks down information in an approachable way to help lead us to a conclusion, which really reinforces our learning! Her knowledge and teaching style are invaluable, and she will remain a guiding light for all of us as we continue our careers!” ̶ Path A Class of 2026
In her free time, Nicole is cheering on Liverpool FC at the Boot Room in Durham, listening to music, which she deems as “one of the few truly magical things life has to offer,” and spoiling her pug, Noodles. She is also a self-proclaimed “politics junkie” and has been spotted listening to C-SPAN while grossing (on the rare occasions she isn’t paired with a student, of course!).
In celebration of Path A Day, Nicole would like to thank “my kids” ̶ aka all current, former, and future PA students. “They are the pure joy of my career; they teach me far more than I teach them, and I’m privileged to have even a small space in their pathology worlds.”