Saturday, July 05, 2008 :: 05:29
Office of Student Services
Policy on Technical Standards
Policy on Technical Standards for Admission, Continuation and Graduation
Applicants for admission to The University of New Mexico School of
Medicine and current students must possess the capability to complete the
entire medical curriculum, achieve the degree Doctor of Medicine, and
practice medicine with or without accommodation. The University recognizes
that otherwise qualified candidates for the MD degree may be able to meet
the technical standards described in this document if provided reasonable
accommodation. It should be noted however that the use of a trained
intermediary is not acceptable in situations where the candidate’s
judgment is impacted by the intermediary’s powers of selection and
observation. Thus the use of personal aids, assistants, care-givers,
readers, and interpreters may not be appropriate, particularly in clinical
education settings. Students must also be aware that approval for and the
provision of reasonable accommodations at UNM –SOM does not mean that
similar accommodations would be granted elsewhere or by national licensing
review boards.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The
University of New Mexico School of Medicine will implement policy and
procedures to ensure equal access to educational opportunities for persons
with disabilities. Because graduates of medical school must be prepared to
assume care for patients in a wide variety of clinical disciplines the
education for the MD degree is, of necessity, broad in nature. An avowed
intention to practice only a narrow part of the curriculum does not alter
the requirement that all students take the full curriculum.
Technical Standards Required to Perform the Essential
Functions of the Medical School Curriculum
The medical curriculum requires demonstrated proficiency in a variety
of cognitive, problem-solving, manipulative, communicative, and
interpersonal skills. To achieve these proficiencies, the School of
Medicine requires that each student be able to meet the following
Technical Standards.*
- Observation: Through independent observation the student must
be able to acquire information in the basic medical sciences, including
that obtained from demonstrations and experiential activities. The
student must also be able to observe and accurately acquire information
directly from the patient as well as from other sources including
written documents, images, slides, videos, and films. This level of
observation and information acquisition requires the functional use of
vision, hearing, and somatic sensation.
- Communication: Students must be able to effectively speak,
hear, read and write in a tutorial, classroom, and assessment setting.
Student must be able to speak, hear and observe patients in a clinical
setting. A student must be able to record information accurately and
clearly, fluently speak and write English, and communicate effectively
and in a sensitive manner with patients. A student must also be able to
communicate effectively with members of the healthcare team in oral and
written form and in patient care settings where clinical decisions may
depend on rapid communication.
- Motor Coordination: Students must be able to elicit
information independently from patients by palpation, auscultation,
percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. Students should be able to
respond to emergency situations in a timely manner and provide or direct
general emergency care such as airway management, CPR, placement of
intravenous catheters, simple wound repair, and basic obstetrical
procedures. Such activities require sufficient physical mobility
coordination of both gross and fine motor neuromuscular function,
functional use of the sense of touch, vision, hearing, and balance and
equilibrium.
- Intellect: Students must be able to identify, define, and
solve problems in a timely and effective manner. This critical skill
demanded of physicians requires the ability to work effectively with
measurements and calculations, to learn and reason in a variety of
settings including formal lectures, small group discussions, individual
teaching sessions, clinical teaching sessions and independent learning
activities, to self-evaluate, and to integrate, analyze, and synthesize
data concurrently in a multi-task setting. In addition, the students
must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to
understand the spatial relationships of structures.
- Behavioral and Social Attributes: Students must possess the
emotional health and the self-discipline required for full use of their
intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, and the timely
and safe completion of all tasks and responsibilities. They must be able
to adapt to rapid change, to display flexibility and learn to function
in the face of stressful situations and uncertainties. Students must
consistently demonstrate honesty, integrity, altruism, empathy, and
concern for patients, their families, colleagues, members of the
healthcare team and the community at large.
The determination of whether an applicant or current student meets the
above standards will be done on an individual case by case basis utilizing
the existing committee structure of the School of Medicine (i.e.,
Committee on Admissions, Advisory Committee on Students with Disabilities, Committee on Student Promotions and Evaluation I
and II [CSPE I, II], Education Council).
*Technical Standards shall mean those minimum standards for
physicians that must be examined and enforced in the admissions process
and in the determination whether an M.D. degree may be awarded.
Approved by UNM Counsel September 2004
Approved by School of Medicine faculty October 21, 2004
