All students are expected to meet certain technical standards for advancement through the curriculum and graduation of the D.P.M. degree. These reflect a concern for the safety of the students and graduates as well as the patients they treat. The New York College of Podiatric Medicine will not discriminate against physically challenged individuals who meet the current published technical standards.
Observation
Students must have sufficient vision to be able to observe demonstrations, experiments and laboratory exercises in the Pre-Clinical Sciences and the performance of tasks during clinical rotations. They must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and at close hand. They must be able to acquire information from written documents and visualize information as presented in images from paper, films, slides or video. Such observation and information acquisition usually necessitates the functional use of visual, auditory and somatic sensation.
Communication
Students should be able to speak, hear and observe in order to elicit information, examine patients, describe changes in mood, activity and posture and perceive non-verbal communications. They must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. They must also be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health care team. Communication includes not only speech but also proficient reading and writing, in English. Applicants who completed secondary school in a non-English speaking country must demonstrate English proficiency via satisfactory performance on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Such applicants should call 1-800GO TOEFL or 1-609-463-6335 to schedule this exam. An official score report must be submitted to the Office of Enrollment Management at the time of application.
Motor Function
Students should have sufficient motor function to execute movements reasonably required to perform all laboratory course requirements and to provide general podiatric care and emergency treatment to patients.
Examples of common daily treatments include providing palliative care of foot conditions, injecting medications such as anesthetics and anti-inflammatories, taking orthotic impressions, taking pedal radiographs, and assisting at foot and ankle surgery. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of podiatrists are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways and the suturing of simple wounds. Such actions require the coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
Strength and Mobility
Since podiatric medical treatment requires sufficient upper extremity body strength and mobility, it would be necessary to evaluate thoroughly candidates for matriculation who are otherwise qualified but who have significant strength and mobility disabilities.
Sensory Skills
Podiatric medical treatment requires enhanced ability in all sensory skills. Candidates must have sufficient exteroceptive sense (i.e., touch) and sufficient proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement) to carry out their didactic and clinical responsibilities.
Thus, it is necessary to evaluate thoroughly candidates for matriculation who are otherwise qualified but who have significant tactile sensory or proprioceptive disabilities. This would include individuals with significant previous burns, sensory/motor deficits, cicatrix formation and limiting malformations of the upper extremities that prevent performance of essential podiatric tasks, including fulfillment of student clinical requirements.
Visual Integration
Consistent with the ability to assess asymmetry, range of motion and tissue texture changes, it is necessary to have adequate visual capabilities for proper evaluation and treatment integration.
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 and students should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures. Candidates and students must consistently, quickly and accurately be able to integrate all information received by whatever senses employed, and they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.
Behavioral and Social Attributes
Students must possess the emotional health, stability and maturity required for full utilization 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 and other members of the health care team. Candidates and students must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. Candidates and students must be capable of working in stressful, sometimes chaotic environments with multiple distractions and noise. They must be able to carry out their duties including, but not limited to, chart reviewing, patient interviewing, patient examination, and chart writing within a reasonable period of time commensurate with their peers’ abilities. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, varying personalities, display flexibility and learn to function in the face of the 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 admissions and educational process.
Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities to be involved in Invasive and Exposure-prone Procedures
Students must be qualified to be personally and actively involved in invasive and 28 exposure-prone procedures, without being a danger to patients, other health professionals, and fellow students, while adhering to universal precautions, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Common procedures would include, but are not limited to, skin and nail debridement, skin and nail excision, as well as invasive and exposure-prone procedures such as soft tissue and osseous tissue surgical intervention.
Additional Considerations Regarding Professional and Technical Standards
The College shall endeavor to make reasonable accommodations within budgetary and design-engineering constraints to facilitate the education of the physically challenged student. The candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner. A trained intermediary is not acceptable in that a candidate's judgment may not be mediated by someone else's power of selection and observation.
Technical Standards and Student Responsibilities at External Facilities
Many of the clinical experiences which students are required to complete are located in other health care facilities not under the direct control of the College. The facilities have their own rules and policies regarding immunizations, health screenings and health status of students as well as health care providers. Those who are required to participate in educational programs at these sites must meet the standards, policies and regulations of these facilities. Students unable to meet the requirements of the external facilities must report this to the Dean's Office. The College will attempt to find alternative site accommodation if possible.
No guarantee is expressly made or implied by the College that at alternate sites such accommodation will be possible. The failure of a student to qualify for a required clinical experience in the face of no available accommodation on the part of the College may result in the student’s inability to complete the curriculum and ineligibility to graduate from the college with the D.P.M. degree.
Appropriate housing and transportation to the College and to affiliated institutions are solely the responsibility of the student.
