Technical Standards

Our school is committed to training competent, compassionate physicians prepared to meet society’s healthcare needs. Because the MD degree signals readiness for postgraduate training and the responsibilities of clinical practice, our expectations extend beyond knowledge acquisition to include essential skills and professional behaviors.

To make those expectations clear—and to support patient safety and an ADA-compliant learning environment—the SOM maintains Technical Standards for Admission, Retention, Promotion, and Certification for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. These standards define the essential functions all students must be able to perform with or without reasonable accommodations. The SOM complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws and will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students. At the same time, all students must be able to independently perform the essential functions of the curriculum; the use of intermediaries cannot alter a learner’s judgment or the nature of required tasks.

What the Technical Standards Cover

The standards are organized into five core domains:

Observation: Ability to acquire information in basic science and clinical settings, including use of medical records, diagnostic studies, and medical literature. This requires functional visual, auditory, and somatic sensation (with smell enhancing these skills).

• Communication: Proficiency in English and effective interpersonal communication with patients, families, and caregivers—delivered professionally regardless of demographic factors. Students must also work effectively with medical interpreters when needed and communicate clearly with the healthcare team in oral and written formats.
• Motor and Sensory Function: Sufficient motor and sensory ability to participate in classrooms, laboratories, simulations, and clinical settings, including physical examination, diagnostic/therapeutic procedures, and general and emergent patient care.
• Intellectual, Cognitive, and Conceptual Skills: Ability to assimilate, integrate, and apply complex information (measurement, calculation, analysis, synthesis), including three-dimensional and spatial reasoning.
• Behavioral, Social, and Professional Attributes: Emotional health and interpersonal skills (e.g., empathy, integrity, respect) necessary to manage workload and stress, adapt to change, function amid uncertainty, recognize unconscious bias and its impact on patient interactions, and take responsibility for professional conduct. Students are also expected to self-monitor well-being and seek support when needed.

How We Disseminate Them

The Technical Standards are communicated to prospective and actual applicants, enrolled students, and faculty/educators through institutional channels, including admissions resources, student-facing materials, and Office of Medical Education communications. This newsletter article serves as an additional mechanism to ensure faculty awareness of the standards guiding admission, progression, and graduation expectations. The Technical Standards are also published annually in the UMMC Catalog.