GW Physician Assistant Program Technical Standards

Technical Standards

List of Essential Functions and Technical Standards

The Health Sciences Programs at George Washington University have established Technical
Standards and Essential Functions for Admission, Continuance, and Graduation for all
programs, regardless of specific discipline of study. 

The George Washington University Physician Assistant Program considers it essential for all
physician assistant students to have the knowledge and skill to function in a variety of
clinical settings and to provide a wide spectrum of patient care as required by the
curriculum. In alignment with the GW Health Sciences technical standards, but specific to
the functions, skills, and practice as a PA, the GW PA Technical Standards requires that every
student have sufficient capacities and abilities in: Communication, Observation,
Motor/Tactile Function, Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and
Quantitative Abilities, and Behavioral and Social Attributes.

1. Communication includes the ability to speak, hear, read, write, type effectively and
   professionally to achieve adequate exchange of information with other healthcare
   professionals, patients, and their support network.
   1. The student must have the ability to receive and process auditory information and
      speak and write clearly for all communications with patients, their families, and
      other healthcare professionals.
   2. The student must be able to read sufficiently to comprehend complex
      medical literature and convey this information in easy to understand terms.

   3. The student must be able to perceive forms of non-verbal
      interpersonal communications including facial expressions, body
      language, and affect.

       

2. Observation includes the ability to perceive, using senses and mental abilities, information
   presented in both educational and clinical settings. Educational information will be
   presented through lectures, team-based learning, laboratory sessions, interprofessional
   sessions, small groups and one-on-one interactions, as well as through written and
   audiovisual materials.

   1. The student must possess sufficient sensory (visual, auditory, tactile, and
      olfactory) and mental abilities to accurately perceive information provided in the
      educational settings.  Information may be provided as written and audiovisual
      materials, laboratory data, diagnostic images, microscopic and histologic
      findings, and through conducting patient histories and performing physical
      examinations.
   2.  The student must be able to accurately observe (using visual, auditory, tactile,
      and/or olfactory senses) a patient’s medical condition, including patient affect,
      up close and at a distance, with and without medical instrumentation. This
      includes but is not limited to radiography, electrocardiograms, sonograms,
      monitors, and other graphic images.

    

3. Motor/Tactile Function
   1. A student must have sufficient motor function to directly perform
      palpation, percussion, auscultation, and other diagnostic and therapeutic
      maneuvers.
   2. A student must be able to reasonably execute movements required to provide
      general and emergency medical care to patients. These skills require coordination
      of fine and gross motor skills, equilibrium, and functional sensation.
   3. A student must adhere to universal precaution measures and meet safety
      standards applicable to inpatient and outpatient settings and other clinical
      activities.
   4. A student must have the capability to manipulate equipment and instruments for
      the performance of basic laboratory tests, procedures, and physical examinations.
   5. A student must have the ability to move her/himself from one setting to another
      and physically negotiate the patient care environment in a timely fashion.

   6. A student must have sufficient physical stamina to perform the rigorous course of
      didactic and clinical study. This includes long periods of sitting, standing, and
      moving which are required for classroom, laboratory, and clinical experiences.  It
      also includes meeting attendance requirements for classroom, laboratory, clinical
      experiences, and examinations as scheduled during the didactic and clinical
      curricula. Clinical sites may have attendance policies regarding start/stop times,
      daily work hours (up to 12 hours), weekly hours (up to 80 hours), and shift work
      that students are expected to meet. 

       

4. Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities
   A student must be able to demonstrate cognitive and problem-solving skills in an efficient
   and timely manner in order to meet the PA Program Competencies. Problem solving is one
   of the critical skills demanded of physician assistants. It requires all of these intellectual
   abilities:

   1.  Reading and understanding the medical literature and the patient’s chart.
   2. Learning, measuring, calculating, retrieving, prioritizing, analyzing, organizing,
      assimilating, integrating, and synthesizing technically detailed and complex
      information and applying this information appropriately.
   3. Comprehending three-dimensional relationships, the spatial and functional
      relationships of structures, and analyzing and applying this information for problem
      solving and decision making.

    

5. Behavioral and Social Attributes
   1. The student must possess emotional stability for full utilization of her/his
      intellectual abilities, exercise good judgment in decision making, and the prompt
      completion of all responsibility’s attendant to both didactic and clinical studies and
      patient care.
   2. The student must be able to develop mature, sensitive, and effective
      relationships with patients and their family members, staff, and colleagues.
   3. The student must be able to work collaboratively and effectively as a small
      group member as well as a health team member.
   4. The student must have sufficient interpersonal skills to relate positively with
      people across society, including all ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic levels,
      gender, gender identity, sexual orientations, disabilities, and belief systems.
   5. The student must possess compassion and concern for others; interest in
      and motivation for service and integrity.
   6. Despite the physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing workloads, the
      student must possess appropriate coping skills to function effectively under
      challenging and stressful situations.
   7. The student must be able to complete several tasks within a specific time
      frame. 
   8. The student must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display
      flexibility, and function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical
      problems of many patients.
   9. The student must behave in an ethical and moral manner that is consistent
      with professional values.
   10. The student must be able to accept constructive criticism and appropriately
       respond through modification of behavior.

Completion of this program requires that each student independently demonstrate these
capabilities continuously throughout enrollment. Surrogates cannot be used to accomplish
the essential functions as outlined above. Students may not have undue dependence on
technology or trained intermediaries to meet these standards.