PA community urges Connecticut DOJ to investigate discrimination claims within program
May 13, 2022
A group of current and former Quinnipiac University physician assistant students and their families published a letter May 13, urging the Department of Justice to investigate discrimination claims in the program.
The letter was addressed to Chief of the Civil Division’s Defensive Unit Michelle McConaghy of the Connecticut US attorney’s office. The authors wrote that the environment of the program is taxing on students’ mental health and that the measures in place to protect students with disabilities, such as disciplinary committees, punish students rather than helping them. They said students who disclose mental health issues are “singled out” by the program’s faculty.
They also alleged that when students request formal accommodations, the program “disregards the recommendations of qualified experts or providers” who have evaluated the student, and instead the program gives the student “minimum standard accommodations.”
“The discriminatory treatment, including the culture of mental health stigma created by the PA faculty, has been a destructive force for these students and their families, penalizing them with immense student debt and loss of career upon their dismissal,” the letter said.
In the statement, the group cited two of The Chronicle’s previous articles: the first about former PA student Alexandra Faulkner’s lawsuit against Quinnipiac which claims that the program dismissed her in part because of prejudices against her mental disability and Ukrainian background. The second article mentioned in the letter was concerning mental health within the PA program.
The university did not comment on Faulkner’s pending lawsuit.
In a previous statement to The Chronicle, Dean of School of Health Sciences Janelle Chiasera said she and Chair of PA Studies Tim Ferrarotti “always want to hear from students, whether it’s to share feedback, concerns or ideas on how to enhance their learning experience.”
“Quinnipiac’s PA program is committed to giving all of its students the support they need and delivering a high-quality academic experience and clinical training that will position them to be exemplary PAs and PA leaders upon successful completion of the program,” Chiasera said.
Richard • Jul 25, 2023 at 5:49 pm
I am one of the writers of the letter to the DOJ. I spent time listening to current students, graduates, and dismissed students alongside their family members. It was especially heartbreaking to hear about the experiences of the dismissed students and how this has affected their lives. Students with accommodations were treated very differently than the rest of the class, and I heard the same names of non-accommodated students getting preferential treatment and lenient punishments for academic failures. For students with disabilities, it didn’t matter if they had evidence to present to the APRC or other mitigating circumstances, as their disciplinary hearings were always denied. Some students even said the PA faculty lied during their disciplinary hearings in order to discredit them. Students with disabilities are supposed to have an equal opportunity to succeed. Instead, they were singled out and dismissed in disproportionate numbers. There is a reason why QU has been very silent, as any investigative details into dismissed students would show bias and discrimination from within the PA faculty. While talking with the students independently, I heard them identify the same PA faculty multiple times, which indicated a common source of the bias and discrimination. I believe that in time, the truth will come out about this program, and QU will be held accountable, including specific PA faculty members.
Mildred Scott • Jun 16, 2022 at 6:02 pm
As a family member of one of the dismissed students, I believe that the Department of Justice will be the perfect entity to do a completely impartial investigative process into all of the discrimination. Infinitely more than Quinnipiac will ever do themselves. How can a university say “impartial” in their policies when it is evident that the physician assistant program can do whatever they want, and the university administration goes along with it. Either the pa program is not being honest with their management, or the rest of the school is in on it. I pray every day that there will be justice for my daughter, and that the faculty that did this to her are fired. She did not deserve this.
Justice4AF • Jun 10, 2022 at 9:33 pm
Wow, I spent the time to read the 42-page deposition written by the plaintiff’s lawyer and the details of the case were shocking. It appears that Alexandra Faulkner had just wanted to get through this rigorous program to achieve her goal of being a PA, not expecting to be thrown into the discriminatory hurdles and setbacks that QU condoned.
Yes, Alexandra does have a history of depression, but that did not severely impact her ability to continue passing tests and rotations in becoming a great clinician. What set the downward spiral was the initial preceptor’s remarks (from Hospital of Central Connecticut in 2018) about her culture and the lack of feedback on her performance. Alexandra was under the impression that she was doing well as she was offered a recommendation by the fellow PA preceptors there, but was never informed about her poor performance during the rotation. Obviously to any person, it would be a shock to find out you have failed a main preceptor who never gave you feedback and made comments instead about your culture possibly being the culprit. This exacerbated her depression as she has a history of having many barriers in the past already, but would still have the grit and desire to push through. Recall that she was already held back one year due to dealing with a family member’s illness. Instead of using the resources to help Alexandra through another battle, it seems that QU wrongfully utilized her history of depression as a scapegoat to remove her from the PA program rather than investigating into the unfair review made by the preceptor. They gave up on a student whose background proved her worthy of her seat in the PA program.
Why? It’s a conflict of interest for QU – damaging relationships with their limited established clinical sites where new local PA programs are developing and competing for the same sites versus numerous relationships with their own door-revolving students. Recall that QU PA Program has established itself to be a prestigious students and has attracted many applicants who vied for a limited spot. From a business standpoint, it would make sense to side with the preceptor regardless of worthy offenses to keep the clinical site than to lose a relationship with a PA student whose seat can be easily replaceable. Without adequate clinically sites to maintain the prestige of a PA program that has standards to meet, there is no QU PA Program. Is it morally correct? No, but that is the situation Alexandra Faulkner is unfortunately forced to deal with. With more students who had been dismissed in the past revealing their similar experiences, this issue with QU discriminatory practices against with disabilities and race needs to be addressed immediately.
I was once Alexandra’s classmate who worked with her many times. You would never suspect that she had a history of depression. She would come to class, put a smile in her face, be friendly to those around her, and dedicate to her studies in the hopes of passing the PA Program to do what she loved and to better her live as an Ukrainian immigrant.
Please share your prayers, support, and this article for Alexandra Faulkner in getting justice and achieving her goal of passing the QU PA Program. That is all she wants. Any thoughts or similar experiences are highly encouraged on here in the comment section or through the above contact links. Thank you.
Anon • Jun 5, 2022 at 8:11 pm
For PA Graduates:
The negative publicity surrounding the QU PA Program brings to light the devastating experiences that a small group of dismissed students went through. I have spoken to other QU PA graduates that have either experienced various discriminatory incidents, witnessed them, or heard of someone that it happened to, in both didactic and clinical years. The dismissed students felt isolated, shamed, and targeted by the PA faculty. They are all still dealing with the aftermath of the decisions of the APRC. You have no idea how destructive and traumatic it has been for those students and their families and the consequences they still deal with.
Now that you have graduated, this is an opportunity to stand up for the ones less fortunate. I’m not sure if you did anything to help back when you were classmates, but you definitely can now. There are three things that you can do. First, reach out to Attorney McConaghy from the Department of Justice via email ([email protected]) with details of your own experiences to provide additional evidence for their investigation. Second, post a comment to show that you support the investigation. Third, contact your fellow alumni to bring awareness to these issues if they don’t know already.
You should count yourself fortunate that you were not one of the ones dismissed. Others were not so lucky.
For the Current PA Class:
It is my wish that all of you have the support, non-discriminatory, and non-disparate treatment experience during your time at QU and that all of you get to graduate and be successful in your chosen career. You do need to support and protect one another; otherwise, this will happen again. Don’t be complacent and turn a blind eye to injustice, abandon your fellow classmates, or criticize opposing viewpoints about the PA program. If someone had stepped forward years ago, I doubt that things would have declined to this point. If you feel wronged, stand up for yourself. As a previous commenter said in another article, the favorites in the class have nothing to worry about, but I’ll go one step further – if you don’t help, you are part of the problem and share some guilt of the wrongdoing.
The DOJ email address is available for current students too. If you have experienced anything like the descriptions in the article, you have a responsibility to report it, not only for yourself but for everyone else.
Karma • Jun 3, 2022 at 10:39 am
Wow, this looks like it was written by a lawyer! I hope an investigation is started and they are held accountable.
Brett • May 27, 2022 at 4:29 pm
To the QU Administration and PA Program:
As one of the writers of the letter addressed to the DOJ, I wanted to comment on the article that the QU Chronicle has published and the reasons for our request for the DOJ investigation.
I know that the PA Program has been implementing last-minute changes and will continue to spearhead more in the coming years. However, as the complaints are about the PA faculty, I suggest accountability and transparency. They are already familiar with ADA laws and QU’s non-discrimination policy. They also have an in-depth knowledge of mental health illnesses and are in a unique position to either help the students or exacerbate their symptoms. It is unfortunate that mental health and disability stigma still exists in such a highly ranked program.
If the previously dismissed students had the support, understanding, compassion, and good experience that the current class is expected to have, they would have been able to finish the program. As of right now, Alexandra Faulkner is the only student wanting to come back. After what she had to endure while in the program, she is incredibly brave to go back to what would be a hostile environment among the faculty. You should start with her and allow her to graduate. All she asked for were accommodations, and when she notified the faculty that she felt mistreated by a preceptor, they disregarded her concerns. If you can still claim that she had an academic deficiency due to her experiences with preceptors, I fear for any student that stands up for themselves.
As educators, you have a responsibility towards your students to provide them with the most support and the best chance to succeed. I urge you to reflect on how this letter came to be and not try to close every avenue the student can have for a fair and equal opportunity. Every non-ELMPA student selected for the PA Program was successful in his/her life and education goals before being admitted to QU. With the proper support, there should be no dismissals. The APRC hearings seem to be a continuing problem; record the meetings, and have them available for the student. Your program should be able to have the disciplinary hearings held up to outside opinion and counsel for review if necessary and for the APRC to take personal responsibility for their roles.