University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Policy on Technical Standards for the Admission, Retention, and Graduation
of Applicants and Medical Students
I. POLICY
To fulfill the requirements for the MD degree, a candidate must have abilities and skills in six
areas: observation, communication, motor, intellectual (conceptual, integrative, and quantitative),
behavioral and social, and demonstrate ethics and professionalism. Students must meet these
requirements at matriculation and for advancement in the curriculum.
Observation: Students must be able to obtain information from demonstrations and experiments
in the basic sciences. Students must be able to comprehensively assess a patient and evaluate
findings accurately.
Communication: Students must be able to interact with patients in order to elicit information,
detect changes in mood, activity, and to establish a therapeutic relationship. Students must be
able to communicate effectively and sensitively with all patients and all members of the health
care team both in person and in written form.
Motor: Students must, after a reasonable period of time, possess the capacity to perform a
physical examination and perform diagnostic maneuvers. Students must be able to provide or
direct motor movements required to provide general care to patients and provision of emergency
treatment of patients. Such actions require coordination of some gross and fine muscular
movements, balance and equilibrium.
Intellectual, conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities: Students must be able to
assimilate detailed and complex information presented in both didactic and clinical coursework,
and engage in problem solving. Students are expected to possess the ability to measure,
calculate, reason, analyze, synthesize, and transmit information. In addition, students must be
able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of
structures, and to adapt to different learning environments and modalities.
Behavioral and social abilities: Students must possess the emotional health required for full
utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, attend to the
responsibilities necessary for the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature,
sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, fellow students, faculty, and staff. They must
be able to adapt to changing environments, to 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, professionalism, interest, and motivation are all personal
2
qualities that are expected during the education processes. The student must be able to undertake
the physical and mental demands of a medical school curriculum.
Ethics and professionalism: Students must maintain and display ethical and moral behaviors
commensurate with professionalism as a physician in all interactions with patients, faculty, staff,
students and the public. The student is expected to understand the legal and ethical aspects of the
practice of medicine and function within the law and ethical standards of the medical profession.
The technical standards delineated above must be met with or without accommodation.
Students who, after review of the technical standards, determine that they require reasonable
accommodation to fully engage in the program should contact the Disability Resources and
Services (DRS) Office to confidentially discuss their necessary accommodations. Given the
clinical nature of our programs, time may be needed to create and implement the
accommodations. Accommodations are never retroactive; therefore, timely requests are essential
and encouraged.
II. PURPOSE
Graduates of UPSOM are expected to have a broad competence in the basic skills underlying the
general practice of medicine and surgery. All graduates must be able to take a history and
synthesize the findings into a diagnosis and plan of evaluation and treatment. Medical students
must possess the requisite technical skills with or without accommodations to accomplish these
requirements in a reliable manner and become competent and safe medical practitioners.
Our technical standards specify the abilities and skills needed to successfully complete our
curricular requirements. Essential abilities and characteristics required for completion of the MD
degree consist of certain minimum physical and cognitive abilities and emotional characteristics
to assure that candidates for admission, promotion, and graduation are able to complete the entire
course of study and participate fully in all aspects of medical training, with or without reasonable
accommodation. Accommodations may involve the use of an intermediary performing a task on
the candidate’s behalf, but this must not be done in a manner that compromises the candidate’s
independent judgement.
III. SCOPE
This policy applies to:
• Medical school applicants
• Medical students
3
IV. POLICY AUTHORS
Office of Admissions
V. RELATED POLICIES
University of Pittsburgh Academic Accommodation Request: Disclosing a Disability
VI. REFERENCES
LCME Element 10.5 Technical Standards: A medical school develops and publishes technical
standards for the admission, retention, and graduation of applicants or medical students in
accordance with legal requirements.
VII. APPROVALS
Education Policy Council
Faculty of the School of Medicine
Dean, School of Medicine April 1, 2019