30000 - Medical Student Handbook | College of Medicine

Technical Standards for Admission,
Advancement, and Graduation

Policy 300.00

Policy Statement

The University of Vermont (UVM) Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and strives to attract and educate students who will be representative of the national population.

We demonstrate professionalism through our core values of integrity, accountability, compassion, altruism, and social responsibility and rely on cultural humility, kindness, and respect, to guide our daily interactions. LCOM understands the importance and value in educating all students independent of race, color, religion, national origin including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity or expression, as defined under applicable law.

We actively collaborate with students, faculty, and staff to support a safe and inclusive environment and consider disability as an essential component of a diverse, inclusive, and equitable professional learning community. LCOM students are offered confidential and specialized disability support services via the University of Vermont Student Accessibility Services Office (UVM SAS). We encourage and support any student with or without a known disability to explore accommodation eligibility with UVM SAS. LCOM Medical Student Handbook Policy 310.00 Support for Disabilities outlines LCOM’s procedures for exploring accommodation(s) eligibility and additional academic support services.

The Larner College of Medicine’s Technical Standards include essential academic and non-academic abilities, attributes, and characteristics in the areas of 1) intellectual-conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; 2) observational skills; 3) communication (verbal and non-verbal; 4) motor function (gross and fine muscular movements, balance, and equilibrium); 5) emotional resilience; 6) behavioral and social skills; and 7) ethics and professionalism.

A medical school applicant or enrolled medical student must possess or be able to meet these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodation(s), for admission to, retention in, and graduation from our medical educational program.

Policy Elaboration

Earning a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree requires mastery of a coherent body of knowledge and skills as well as the ability to integrate, synthesize, and apply such knowledge and skills in a broad-based practice. The undifferentiated LCOM MD degree affirms that any recipient holds the general knowledge, skills, and abilities to function in a variety of clinical situations and the capacity to enter residency training and qualify for medical licensure. Medical students must achieve proficiency in multiple competencies throughout their medical education, as defined in the Medical Student Handbook Policy 130.00 Competencies and Medical Education Programmatic Objectives.

Students must meet the following technical standards for admission, advancement, and graduation, with or without reasonable accommodation(s):
1. Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities
  1. Possess and demonstrate the analytical, conceptual, integrative, quantitative, and reasoning skills that are critical to synthesize and integrate large volumes of information from diverse sources.
  2. Efficiently apply the skills outlined above (2.1.1) to solve medical problems and deliver appropriate patient care.
  3. Comprehend and adapt to different educational environments and learning modalities.
  4. Participate in and engage withthe LCOM curriculum, including but not limited to laboratory instruction (e.g. cadaver lab), demonstration of physical exams, small-group, team, and other collaborative activities; independent and self-directed learning and review; preparation and presentation of reports; and use of computer technology.
2. Observational Skills
  1. Participate in all activities requiring observation and processing of information.
  2. Possess and demonstrate skills required for perception and interpretation of visual, auditory, and tactile information, to assess a patient and accurately evaluate findings.
3. Communication (verbal and non-verbal)
  1. Communicate and transmit information effectively, efficiently, and sensitively with all members of the learning environment (patients, patients’ families, health care personnel, peers, colleagues, faculty, staff, and all other individuals).
  2. Interpret and accurately document both verbal and non-verbal communication from others.
  3. Communicate with, examine, and provide care for all patients, without discrimination or bias.
4. Motor Functioning (gross and fine muscular movements, balance, and equilibrium)
  1. Perform physical examinations and diagnostic interventions on patients in accordance with accepted medical practice.
  2. Demonstrate sufficient motor movements required to provide or direct general or emergency care to patients.
5. Emotional Resilience
  1. Manage stressful and demanding workloads.
  2. Adapt to changing environments, display flexibility, and learn in the face of the uncertainty inherent to the clinical problems of patient and clinical settings.
  3. Demonstrate the emotional abilities required for intellectual engagement, exercise of good judgment, personal accountability, prompt completion of all responsibilities necessary for the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with all members of the learning environment.
6. Behavioral and Social Skills
  1. Demonstrate ongoing motivation, engagement, and collaboration with patients, patients' families, health care personnel, peers, colleagues, faculty, staff, and all other individuals within academic, clinical, and community settings.
7. Ethics and Professionalism
  1. Model professionalism and a professional demeanor consistent with the Larner Professionalism Policy and the Appearance in a Healthcare Setting Policy.
  2. Engage in mature and respectful interactions with patients, patients’ families, health care personnel, peers, colleagues, faculty, staff, and all other individuals.
  3. Consistently appreciate and preserve patient confidentiality.
  4. must be free from influence impairment from regulated and controlled substance in all academic and clinical environments.
  5. Abide by local, state, and federal laws, as well as all UVM and LCOM policies.
  6. Immediately notify the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students of any conviction for a felony offense, misdemeanor offense, or findings from an institutional investigation that were not addressed during the application process, after matriculation, and anytime during medical school.
  7. Maintain and display ethical and moral behaviors commensurate with the role of a physician in all interactions with patients, patients’ families, health care personnel, peers, colleagues, faculty, staff, and all other individuals.
  8. Understand the legal and ethical aspects of the practice of medicine and function within the law and ethical standards of the medical profession.