Medical School Admissions

Essential Functions

Technical Standards for Admission, Continuation & Graduation

  1. The NEOMED College of Medicine strives to provide all students with the training to become qualified physicians prepared to enter any residency program and for the subsequent contemporary practice of medicine in accordance with the standards specified by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. As such, faculty are responsible to develop and implement a medical curriculum designed to educate humane physicians for the highest standards of the practice of medicine.
  2. Preparation and training to become a physician requires each student to understand and to meet the Technical Standards Required for Admission, Continuation and Graduation identified below without or with a reasonable accommodation(s) that do not fundamentally alter the curriculum. The faculty has developed the course requirements and activities to provide critical elements of physician training. It is expected that students will be able to participate in all course activities (including but not limited to lectures, seminars, laboratories, clinics, physical examinations, patient procedures) and adhere to individual hospital rules and regulations as well as COM policies regarding these activities. Learning is based on active student participation rather than simple observation and/or note taking.
  3. A candidate (and active student, hereafter referred to as candidate) for the Doctor of Medicine degree must be able to demonstrate intellectual-conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; skills in observation, communication, motor functions; and mature behavioral and social attributes. While technological compensation, interpreters and/or other reasonable accommodation will be made for some disabilities, a candidate must be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner using his or her own intellect, judgment and diagnostic reasoning skills.
  4. NEOMED embraces diversity and recognizes the value that individuals with disabilities add to the student body and institution and has included disabilities specifically in its diversity statement. It is our experience that individuals with disabilities as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act have successfully completed the curriculum of the NEOMED College of Medicine with the support of reasonable accommodations and are engaged actively in clinical practices.
  5. The following Technical Standards describe the non-academic essential qualifications required, in addition to academic achievements, for successful completion of the Educational Program Objectives of the NEOMED College of Medicine.

Observation

The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences, including but not limited to physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations in animals, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to observe examinations and procedures in the clinical environment, and be able to read test results such as electrocardiograms (EKG) and x-rays. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and somatic sensation. It is enhanced by the functional use of the sense of smell.

Communication

A candidate must be able to communicate effectively in English, and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture and perceive nonverbal communications. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively with all members of the health care team.

Motor

Candidates must have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion and other diagnostic maneuvers that comprise a complete physical examination. A candidate must be able to perform the basic and advanced clinical procedures that are requirements of the NEOMED College of Medicine curriculum. A candidate must be able to execute motor activities reasonably required to provide general care, to perform diagnostic procedures and to provide emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment and motor functions reasonably required of physicians include but are not limited to:

  • performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation/basic life support (CPR/BLS) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), and applying pressure to stop bleeding,
  • administering injections, and starting intravenous lines and administering intravenous medication,
  • making incisions, suturing and tying knots,
  • performing diagnostic procedures and examinations such as funduscopic, otoscopic, breast, rectal and pelvic examinations. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.

 

Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative & Quantitative Abilities

These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physicians, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the candidate must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.

Behavioral & Social Attributes

A candidate must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients. Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Commitment to excellence, service orientation, goal setting skills, academic ability, self-awareness, integrity and interpersonal skills are all personal qualities that are assessed during the admission and education process. Because the nature of medical education is based on a mentoring process, candidates are expected to be able to accept criticism and to respond by appropriate modification of behavior.

Process for Assessing the Applicant’s Compliance with the Technical Standards

Applicants are required to attest at the time they accept an offer to matriculate, that they meet the College of Medicine’s Technical Standards, and thereafter must attest on an annual basis that they continue to meet the Standards. These Standards are not intended to deter any student who might be able to complete the requirements of the curriculum with reasonable accommodations. Requests from applicants for reasonable accommodations in meeting the Technical Standards will be reviewed and considered by the School’s committee that reviews requests for student accommodations. For additional information about the School’s process for assessing an applicant’s compliance with the Technical Standards, contact the Office of Student Services.