Technical Standards
Guidelines for Students with Disabilities
Boston University School of Medicine has a long history of maintaining high standards while actively supporting and accommodating students with disabilities. The following define the policies and procedures for admission, matriculation and continuation leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine at BUSM.
Admission
The Committee on Admissions chooses applicants who seem best qualified based not only on scholastic record, college recommendations, interview, and involvement in college and community activities, but also on the less tangible qualities of personality, character, and maturity. All students must possess the physical and emotional capabilities required to undertake the full curriculum and achieve the level of competence required by the faculty. It is expected that the student will act independently. Students with disabilities applying to medical school will be expected to meet all admission standards, with accommodations if necessary. Graduates of medical schools must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. Boston University takes very seriously its obligation to comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Amendments of 1992 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. At the same time, the University and the School of Medicine recognize that prospective candidates must be capable of meeting certain minimum technical standards. Students who have been accepted by the Committee on Admissions are required to sign a document indicating that they understand the technical standards as well as whether they request specific reasonable accommodations to complete the curriculum. Requests for accommodation are evaluated on an individual basis. Technological compensation may be available to assist individuals with a variety of disabilities and may be permitted; but the use of human intermediaries, who may interject their powers of selection and observation in place of the student’s, will ordinarily not be permitted.
Technical Standards
A candidate for the MD degree must have abilities and skills in the areas of observation; communication; sensory and motor coordination and function; intellectual-conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; and behavioral and social attributes as described below.
Observation
Candidates and students must be able to observe demonstrations and participate in experiments in the basic sciences determined essential by the faculty. They must be able to observe a patient accurately both at a distance and close at hand, noting nonverbal as well as verbal signals. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and other sensory modalities.
Communication
Candidates and students should be able to speak intelligibly, hear sufficiently, and observe patients closely to elicit and transmit information; describe changes in mood, activity, and posture; and perceive nonverbal communication. They must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients and with all members of the health care team. Communication includes not only speech, but also reading and writing; students and candidates must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in both oral and written English, as well as possess reading skills at a level sufficient to accomplish curricular requirements and provide clinical care for patients. They must be capable of completing appropriate medical records, documents, and plans according to protocol, in a complete and timely manner.
Sensory and Motor Coordination and Function
Candidates and students are required to possess motor skills sufficient to perform palpation, percussion, auscultation, and other basic diagnostic procedures. They must be able to execute those motor movements reasonably required to provide basic medical care, such as airway management, placement of catheters, application of pressure to control bleeding, simple obstetrical maneuvers, and the like. Such actions require coordination of gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
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. Candidates and students must be able to identify significant findings from history, physical examination, and laboratory data; provide a reasoned explanation for likely diagnoses, prescribed medications, and therapy; and retain information and recall it in an efficient and timely manner. The ability to incorporate new information from peers, teachers, and medical literature in formulating diagnoses and plans is essential. Good judgment in patient assessment, diagnostic, and therapeutic planning is essential; students must be able to identify and communicate their knowledge to others when appropriate.
Behavioral and Social Attributes
Candidates and students must possess the ability to use their intellectual capacity, exercise good judgment, and promptly complete all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients under potentially stressful circumstances. They must also be able to develop empathic, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients. They must be able to adapt to changing environments and learn in the face of uncertainties inherent in the practice of medicine. Compassion, integrity, ethical standards, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that will be assessed during the admission and educational process.
Identification of Students with Disabilities
Pre-Enrollment Disabilities
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Boston University School of Medicine makes no preadmission inquiry regarding disability. In general, students with physical disabilities are identified or self-identify before enrollment. Students who know that they have learning disabilities (including attention deficit disorder) may or may not self-identify before enrollment. If they do not self-identify, they will be expected to fulfill the curricular requirements without the benefit of accommodations. Once identified, students must complete the documentation process in accordance with University standards. Students are then interviewed by the Director of the Boston University School of Medicine Student Support Services, who reviews the diagnosis and the recommended specific accommodations. The Director of Student Support Services helps the student apply for approval from the Committee on Students with Disabilities. The committee is composed of faculty representatives of all four curriculum years and evaluates requests for accommodations necessary to assist disabled students in fulfilling the technical standards at a satisfactory level. Subsequent approval of the recommended accommodations from the Dean of Boston University School of Medicine is required. The student is encouraged to discuss the disability with the course managers, and the course managers are informed in writing, by the Director of Student Support Services, as to the nature of the student’s disability and the approved accommodations.
Students Who Become Disabled While at Boston University School of Medicine
Students who become disabled while attending BUSM and who wish to request reasonable accommodations are expected to notify the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, as well as to seek the assistance of the Director of Student Support Services in requesting accommodation. The Committee on Students with Disabilities evaluates the disability and formulates accommodations if possible. Approval of the recommended accommodations from the Dean of Boston University School of Medicine is required. The student is referred to the Director of Student Support Services for coordination of the specific accommodations within the curriculum. The student is encouraged to discuss his or her disability with the course managers, and the course managers are informed in writing, by the Director of Student Support Services, as to the nature of the student’s disability and the approved accommodations.
Students with Learning Disabilities Identified While at Boston University School of Medicine
In general, such students are not identified until they experience academic or behavioral difficulties. Identification may be self-identification or observation by course managers, promotion committee, the Director of Student Support Services, or the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Students having academic difficulty are often directed to seek a meeting with the Director of Student Support Services, who reviews the nature of the problem, taking into account study-skill strategies, learning styles, and other possible causes for the difficulties. When appropriate, the student is referred for testing and/or counseling. Following testing and documentation of a disability in accordance with University standards, the Director of the Student Support Services reviews the diagnosis and the recommended specific accommodations. The Director of Student Support Services helps the student apply for approval from the Committee on Students with Disabilities. The Committee on Students with Disabilities evaluates the disability and the requested accommodations necessary to assist disabled students in fulfilling the Technical Standards at a satisfactory level. The student is referred to the Director of Student Support Services for coordination of any specific accommodations within the curriculum. The student is encouraged to discuss his or her disability with the course managers, and the course managers are informed in writing, by the Director of Student Support Services, as to the nature of the student’s disability and the approved accommodations.
All students are required to meet all academic and technical standards, whether or not they have identifiable disabilities and whether or not they request and use accommodations.
Available Resources
Boston University School of Medicine expects all of its students to become highly effective and competent physicians. A wide array of support services is available to all students. Students with disabilities are strongly encouraged to make use of these and other services.
Professional Services
The Director of Boston University School of Medicine Student Support Services conducts comprehensive intake interviews to screen basic skills, information processing, and achievement. If a complete diagnostic evaluation, psychiatric referral, or physical examination is warranted, students will be referred to the appropriate community resource person or agency. The Office of Financial Management can help the student make any necessary financial arrangements for payment.
Advisory System
Each student with a documented disability is given access to a member of the faculty familiar with the student’s history and disability. The faculty member acts as a student advocate when seeking services or appearing before promotion committees, offer advice as requested or simply act as a sounding board when necessary.
Study Skills
The Office of Student Affairs conducts a series of five workshops during the fall term of the first year. The program is made available to all first-year students. Students are introduced to and given the opportunity to practice different study skills.
Learning Resources
The Alumni Medical Library of Boston University School of Medicine has numerous software programs installed in easily accessed computers under the guidance of library support staff. Most of the programs are interactive and provide students with tutorials, self-tests, reviews, or supplemental material.
Tutorial Service
The Office of Student Affairs sponsors a tutorial service for approved medical students during the first two years. Students must be referred by the Director of Student Support Services to the course manager for approval. The course manager provides the student with the name and phone number of either the tutor coordinator for that course or of a tutor. It is incumbent upon the student to make arrangements for the tutorial sessions.
United States Medical Licensing Exam
Although Boston University School of Medicine cannot directly sponsor students or actively participate in petitioning for accommodations from the USMLE, the Director of BUSM Student Support Services assists students in their efforts to gather the appropriate documentation and advises students regarding the petition process. In addition, Boston University School of Medicine has a full series of review sessions open to all Boston University School of Medicine students during the semester immediately before the spring exams.
Accommodations
All students, regardless of the timing or identification of their disabilities, are required to present complete documentation of the disability when requesting accommodations. Students with physical disabilities should contact the Office of Student Affairs before the beginning of classes or as soon as possible after classes begin. The office coordinates course scheduling and lecture-facility accessibility with the course managers, facility administrators, and the physically disabled student. The Director of Student Support Services coordinates any approved specific accommodations with the course managers and Office of Student Affairs.
