PCOM requires all applicants who are offered admission and all enrolled students to meet specific technical standards. These standards describe the functional abilities and professional capacities considered necessary to participate in the curriculum and to provide safe, effective patient care.
The technical standards are separate from academic requirements. They focus on essential abilities required for participation in classroom learning, laboratory instruction, clinical skills training, and supervised patient care. The standards are intended to ensure that students are able to meet the demands of medical education and clinical practice.
These standards may be met with or without reasonable accommodations. They are not intended to exclude individuals with disabilities who can fulfill program requirements with appropriate accommodations consistent with applicable law.
This information is presented for reference only. The technical standards form will be provided to admitted applicants. Official matriculation and continued enrollment in a degree program cannot be confirmed unless the technical standards form is completed and returned.
Students who have an ADA-recognized disability and who require accommodations related to one or more technical standards should contact PCOM Disability Services for guidance on the accommodation process. Requests for accommodations generally require documentation supporting both the disability and the specific accommodations being requested.
Each request is evaluated individually to determine whether the accommodation is reasonable and whether it allows the student to meet the essential requirements of the program without compromising patient safety, educational standards, or professional expectations.
Disability Services may be contacted at disabilityservices@pcom.edu.
Requests related to cultural practices or religious beliefs are not addressed through the disability accommodation process, as they are not considered ADA-recognized disabilities. Students who believe that cultural traditions or religious requirements may affect their ability to meet one or more technical standards are encouraged to contact the Equal Opportunity and Access Team.
Such requests may be reviewed and discussed; however, approval is not guaranteed and depends on the essential requirements of the academic program.
The Equal Opportunity and Access Team may be contacted at titleixcoordinator@pcom.edu.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and the DPT program fully comply with Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act Title V and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The DPT program also asserts that candidates must meet minimal essential eligibility standards to be a qualified applicant for the requirements of the college, DPT program, our clinical education affiliates, and the profession of physical therapy. Furthermore, our primary objective for clinical practice is to ensure that all physical therapy students and graduates are able to provide swift, safe and competent healthcare to patients.
Students’ ability to participate in the classroom and clinical education experiences is based upon many factors including, technical skills and behavioral attributes, communication, physical skills, cognitive skills, etc. All students will be held to these same standards and must be able to perform the essential functions of their position with or without reasonable accommodation.
It is the responsibility of each student with a disability to disclose their disability and to request those accommodations they feel are reasonable and needed to execute the essential requirements described. Upon the request of persons with disabilities, PCOM will provide a process for reasonable accommodations. PCOM is unable to make accommodations that impose an undue burden, present a threat to the health or safety of the individual or others, or fundamentally alter the nature of the curriculum including didactic components, laboratory sessions, and clinical experiences.
The technical standards [essential functions] in physical therapy are set forth so that students recognize the essential eligibility requirements for participation and progression in the DPT program. The DPT candidate and student must possess the ability and skill in six (6) essential areas:
Independently, be able to observe a patient accurately. Students must have somatic sensations and functional use of the senses of vision and hearing to observe demonstrations and participate in clinical practice. They must be able to observe a patient accurately nearby and at a distance. Observation requires the functional use of the sense of vision and other systems, including sound, smell, and touch.
Students must also have sufficient ability to respond to sensory stimulus [touch, pain, temperature], sufficient proprioceptive sense [position, pressure, movement, stereognosis and vibratory], and sufficient motor function to consistently, quickly, and accurately integrate and interpret all information received by whatever sense/s permit them to carry out the activities described in these standards.
Utilize verbal, non-verbal and written communication with clients and caregivers. Students should be able to speak, hear, and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe any changes in behavior and appearance/posture [non-verbal communications], and during activity. They must be able to communicate effectively with patients in a culturally competent manner - with sensitivity, dignity, and respect. Students must also be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the patient health care team. They must possess reading and writing skills at a level to accomplish curricular requirements and provide clinical care for patients.
Safely, reliably and efficiently perform physical therapy examination, evaluation, and physical therapy interventions that address the patient’s impairments/functional & participation restrictions, as well as, be able to evaluate responses to these procedures.
All physical therapy students should have sufficient sensorimotor skills to be able to perform basic examination procedures, design, and implement a physical therapy plan of care with speed, strength, coordination, and endurance for handling self, classmates, clients and be able to simultaneously physically support and observe a patient with health condition/s, functional and participation restrictions.
Students must have sufficient sensory/motor function to obtain information from patients through palpation, auscultation, percussion, and/or other diagnostic procedures. They should be able to reasonably move from place to place and position to position to provide general care and emergency care to patients. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine motor skills, balance reactions and functional use of the senses – smell, touch, vision, and hearing. For example, emergency treatment reasonably requires a physical therapy student to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and opening of obstructed airways, application of pressure to stop bleeding, prevention of falls, perform safe patient transport maneuvers.
Problem solve rapidly, learn and reason, and to integrate, analyze and synthesize data concurrently in a multitask setting. Comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationship of structure. Participate in the scientific inquiry process.
Students should exhibit the ability to perform measurement, calculation, interpretation of information, reasoning, analysis and synthesis. Problem-solving requires the use of all of these abilities and is considered an essential component of intellectual ability, which is demanded of health professionals.
Practice in a safe, ethical and legal manner. Students must be able to determine when and how to respond to emergencies and demonstrate management skills including planning, organizing, supervising and delegating in an ethical and legal manner.
Possess the emotional health required for full use of their intellectual abilities, exercise good judgment and the prompt and safe completion of all responsibilities.
Students must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainty and stress, which are inherent in the clinical problems of many patients and the healthcare arena. They must possess behavioral/social and interpersonal skills reflective of interest and motivation, empathy, compassion, and respect for all individuals.
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