Core Performance Requirements (Technical Standards)

Medical education requires that the accumulation of scientific knowledge be accompanied by the simultaneous acquisition of skills and professional attitudes and behavior. The faculty has a responsibility to society to matriculate, educate and graduate the best possible podiatric physicians, and thus admission to medical school is offered to those who present the highest qualifications for the study and practice of podiatric medicine. Technical standards presented below are requisite for admission, continued enrollment, and graduation from Barry University’s School of Podiatric Medicine. Students may be dismissed from the School of Podiatric Medicine for noncompliance with any of the technical standards delineated below. Unless otherwise noted, all courses in the curriculum are required in order to develop essential skills required to become a competent podiatric physician. Graduates of the School of Podiatric Medicine must have the knowledge and skills to function in a variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. The School of Podiatric Medicine acknowledges Section 504 of the 1973 Vocational Rehabilitation Act and PL 101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but ascertains that compliance with certain technical standards must be demonstrated in all prospective candidates. A candidate for the D.P.M. degree must have aptitude, abilities, and skills in five areas: observation; communication; motor; conceptual, integrative and quantitative; and behavioral and social. Although technological compensation is acceptable for some handicaps in these areas, candidates must be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner. The use of a trained intermediary to perform certain tasks would mean that a candidate’s judgment must be integrated with another’s power of selection and observation. Therefore, third parties cannot assist students in accomplishing curricular requirements in the five skill areas specified above.

Observation

The candidate for the D.P.M. degree must be able to observe demonstrations and participate in experiments in the basic sciences, including, but not limited to, physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathological states. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and other sensory modalities, especially the functional use of the senses of smell and touch.

Communication

A candidate for the D.P.M. degree should be able to speak, to hear and to observe patients in order to elicit information, to describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and to perceive nonverbal communications. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech, but also reading and writing. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health care team. All courses in the School of Podiatric Medicine are conducted in English; communication skills in the English language are therefore requisite.

Motor Coordination or Function

Candidates for the D.P.M. degree should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate should be able to do basic laboratory tests (urinalysis, CBC, etc.), carry out diagnostic procedures (phlebotomy, paracentesis, etc.) and read EKGs and X-rays. A candidate should be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of podiatric physicians are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the administration of intravenous medication, application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, the suturing of simple wounds, and the performance of simple obstetrical maneuvers. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and coordinated 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. In addition, the candidate for the D.P.M. degree should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.

Behavioral and Social Attributes

Candidates for the D.P.M. degree must possess the emotional health required for full use 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 therapeutic relationships with patients. Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively when stressed. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Empathy, integrity, concerns for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that are assessed at all stages during the admission and educational processes. Candidates for the D.P.M. degree must have somatic sensation and the functional use of the senses of vision and hearing as well as equilibrium, smell and taste. Additionally, they must have sufficient exteroceptive sense (touch, pain and temperature), sufficient proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement, stereognosis and vibratory) and sufficient motor function to permit them to carry out the activities described in the section above. They must be able to consistently, quickly, and accurately integrate all information received by whatever sense(s) employed, and they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data. The Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine will consider for admission any applicant who demonstrates the ability to perform or demonstrates the aptitude to learn to perform the skills listed above. Students are evaluated not only on their scholastic accomplishments, but also on their physical and emotional stability and capacities to meet all requirements of the Program’s curriculum. Candidates for the D.P.M. degree graduate as skilled and effective practitioners of podiatric medicine. The following technical queries are relevant to the admissions and student evaluation processes:

1. Is the candidate able to observe demonstrations and participate in experiments in the basic sciences?

2. Is the candidate able to analyze, synthesize, extrapolate, solve problems, and reach medically sound diagnostic and therapeutic judgments?

3. Does the candidate have sufficient use of the senses of vision and hearing and the somatic sensation necessary to perform a physical examination? Can the candidate be trained to perform palpation, auscultation, and percussion?

4. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to relate to patients and establish sensitive, professional relationships with patients?

5. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to communicate the results of the examination to the patient and to his colleagues with accuracy, clarity and efficiency?

6. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to learn and perform routine laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures?

7. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to perform with precise, quick and appropriate actions in emergency situations?

8. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to display good judgment in the assessment and treatment of patients?

9. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to possess the perseverance, diligence, and consistency to complete the medical program curriculum and enter the independent practice of podiatric medicine and surgery?

10. Can the candidate reasonably be expected to accept criticism and respond by appropriate modification of behavior?

Upon matriculation to the School of Podiatric Medicine, all students whose education and training will involve participation in clinical settings are required to undergo a criminal background check specified by their program director.