COM Minimum Technical Standards for Admission and Matriculation
KCUMB is dedicated to the admission and matriculation of all qualified applicants and wishes to acknowledge awareness of laws which prohibit discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. The University will not discriminate against disabled (or handicapped) individuals who are otherwise qualified, while expecting applicants and students to meet certain minimal technical standards as set forth herein. In adopting these standards, the University believes it must keep in mind the ultimate safety of the patients for whom its graduates will eventually care. The standards reflect what the University believes, in its professional, academic judgment, are the minimum expectations of osteopathic medical students (and physicians) necessary for the safe, efficient and effective delivery of medical care.
The holder of a doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) degree must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. In order to carry out the activities described below, candidates for the D.O. degree must be able to consistently, quickly and accurately integrate all information received and have the ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.
A candidate for the D.O. degree must have multiple abilities and skills, including: observation, communication, motor, conceptual, integrative and quantitative, and behavioral and social. Technological compensation can be made for handicaps in some of these areas, but a candidate must be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner.
Observation
Candidates and students must have sufficient vision to observe demonstrations, experiments and laboratory exercises in the basic sciences. They must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand.
Communication
Candidates and students should be able to speak, to hear and to observe patients in order to elicit information, examine patients, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. They must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech, but also reading and writing. They also must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health-care team.
Motor
Candidates and students should have sufficient motor function to execute movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physicians are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, administration of intravenous medication, the 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 functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
Sensory
Since osteopathic candidates and students need enhanced ability in their sensory skills, it would be necessary to thoroughly evaluate for candidacy individuals 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 many malformations of the upper extremities.
Strength and Mobility
Osteopathic treatment often requires upright posture with sufficient lower extremity and body strength; therefore, individuals with significant limitations in these areas would be unlikely to succeed. Mobility to attend to emergency codes and to perform such maneuvers as CPR also are required.
Visual Integration
Candidates and students must have adequate visual capabilities for proper evaluation and treatment integration to be able to assess asymmetry, range of motion and tissue texture changes.
Intellectual Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities
Candidates and students must be able to concentrate, analyze and interpret data, and make decisions within areas in which there is a reasonable amount of visual and auditory distraction. They must also perform these functions in a timely manner and under a reasonable amount of stress since physicians are expected to be able to perform such duties in diverse clinical settings where others may be present and where there is a certain degree of noise. Candidates and students must be able to accurately write prescriptions, accurately perform basic mathematical functions, and accurately and quickly read charts with minimal error in areas where there may be distractions. The practice of medicine demands the ability to integrate and process information promptly and accurately in a time-sensitive environment. Candidates must be able to draw on their store of knowledge in emergency situations and under time limitations.
Behavioral and Social Attributes
Candidates and students must possess the emotional health 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. Candidates and students must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and 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. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that will be assessed during the admissions and educational processes.
KCUMB will attempt to develop creative ways of opening the medical school curriculum to competitive, qualified disabled individuals. In doing so, however, the University must maintain the integrity of its curriculum and preserve those elements deemed essential to the education of an osteopathic physician.
Participation in Osteopathic Clinical Skills Laboratory
Active participation in Osteopathic Clinical Skills Laboratory is an admission, matriculation and graduation requirement.
The development of palpatory skills used for diagnosis and treatment is a significant distinction between the educational programs in osteopathic and allopathic medical schools. Stedman’s Medical Dictionary defines palpitation as examination with the hands and fingers, touching, feeling or perceiving by the sense of touch. Palpatation in the osteopathic educational context is the use of touch to examine the body. Palpatory skills are used in all areas of osteopathic medial practice and are especially important in the evaluation and treatment of the musculoskeletal system. The development of palpatory skills and grasp of osteopathic treatments are acquired in the first- and second-year labs of medical school. This learning requires active participation in all laboratory sessions. During the first two years, each student will palpate, in the laboratory setting, a variety of people, representing both genders and individuals with different body types to simulate the diversity of patients expected in a practice setting. Being palpated by other students helps the student appreciate how palpation feels from the patient’s perspective and enables the students to provide feedback to their laboratory partners, thus enhancing the palpatory skills of all students.
The osteopathic medical profession uses a variety of treatment models, and through the skills development process, the student learns the art and skills of manipulative treatment. Psychomotor skills are developed by repeated practice. Reading and observation, although helpful, do not develop the skills required to perform palpatory diagnosis and manipulative treatment. Each student is required to actively participate in all skill development laboratory sessions. These skills are taught by treating and being treated by a cadre of students of both genders and with varying body types to simulate a medical practice setting.
Proper dress attire is an important aspect of manipulation training in the laboratory setting. The development of palpatory skills needed to diagnose and treat problems of the musculoskeletal system requires dress attire to maximize the ability to evaluate tissue texture changes, bony and soft tissue landmarks, tenderness and range of motion. All students should wear loose fitting shirts and short pants/scrubs/sweats/bathing suits (no spandex) to the laboratory to allow easy access for palpation of body parts as determined by particular subject area of each lab (for example, if the cervical spine is being examined, then regular street clothes which allow complete access to the cervical area may be worn). To allow maximal exposure of the back, female students should wear a sports bra or bathing suit top under a loose fitting shirt. All students should keep their shirts on unless being directly palpated. Improper attire includes items that might impede palpatory and visual learning, including, but not limited to: denim, cutoffs, jewelry and belts. To help keep the tables clean and prevent tearing of the covers, it is especially important that shoes not be worn while on the tables. Scrubs may be worn in the lab with the caveats above. All scrubs should be in good repair and clean.
Occasionally, a student may present with a physical problem that may contraindicate a specific type of manipulation in a specific anatomical location. A student who feels manipulation might be contraindicated is required to contact the coordinator of OMM before the beginning of the section and present documentation of their problem. A member of the Family Medicine faculty will examine the student during the first week of school. If the problem is confirmed through the examination and review of the documentation, special arrangements may be authorized. The student will be expected to actively participate in all laboratory sessions not directly affected by their specific problem