Health & Technical Standards

The General Faculty of OSU-COM has established the academic requirements of the Osteopathic Medical Education Program with the goal of training graduates who have the knowledge and skills to function as osteopathic physicians in a broad variety of clinical situations and to provide a wide spectrum of patient care.  The General Faculty of OSU-COM considers the Technical Standards of the Program to be essential capacities that students must possess to meet the academic requirements of the Program.  As such, the Technical Standards are prerequisites for admission, continuation, promotion, and graduation.  All candidates for admission must meet these Technical Standards to be admitted to the Osteopathic Medical Education Program of OSU-COM, and all students in the Program must continue to meet these Technical Standards throughout their enrollment as students in the Program.

Students with adequately documented disabilities will be allowed to meet the Technical Standards and/or fulfill the academic requirements of the Program using approved accommodations.  Accommodations for disabilities are intended to provide students with disabilities with access to equal opportunities; they are not intended to assure success.  All students must be able to meet the Technical Standards and fulfill the academic requirements of the Program in a reasonably independent manner with or without approved accommodations.  No student may meet Technical Standards or fulfill academic requirements using auxiliary aids or accommodations that provide cognitive support or medical knowledge, substitute for essential clinical skills, or supplement clinical and ethical judgment. 

Students must possess all of the capacities listed in the five categories below:

1. Observation:The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences including, but not limited to, microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation requires the functional use of the sense of vision and somatic sensations. It is enhanced by the functional use of the sense of smell.
2. Communication: A candidate must be able to speak, hear, and observe the 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. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health care team.
3. Motor: Candidates must have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion and other diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers. A candidate must be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care, osteopathic manipulation, and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physicians are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, the suturing of simple wounds, and the performance of simple obstetrical maneuvers. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
4. Intellectual - Conceptual, Integrative and 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, candidates must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.
5. Behavior and Social Attributes: Candidates must have the emotional health required for full use of their 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, display flexibility, and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that will be assessed during the admission and education process.