VCOM Institutional Policy and Procedure Manual

VCOM Policy and Procedure

Policy #S012

The intellectual abilities described above are necessary for the practice of osteopathic medicine. As such, students must be able to gain knowledge through the use of all of the types of learning materials that the VCOM curriculum offers. These abilities must also be applied to emergent situations; therefore, the VCOM curriculum requires students to examine patients, calculate and make medical decisions in timed testing situations and in the presence of noise and distraction, all of which a physician faces daily wherever medicine is practiced. Students with intellectual disabilities who qualify for Section 504 accommodations may be granted reasonable accommodations in the classroom on written examinations. Such accommodations are not possible in clinical situations or in simulated clinical situations when preparing and testing students to be practice ready. See the section on eligibility for accommodations in this handbook for more information. Ability in Standardized Test Taking: VCOM’s accreditor, the COCA, requires students to pass COMLEX Level I and Level 2 CE exams prior to graduation; therefore, students must be able to perform satisfactorily on timed, computerized, multiple-choice standardized exams and on clinical standardized patient exams. NBOME determines the student’s ability to receive accommodations (or not) for these exams and; therefore, the students ability to pass board exams with the accommodations awarded by NBOME is the technical standard. Students may ask for accommodations by the NBOME; however, these are not guaranteed. V. Behavioral and Mental Health Attributes (including conditions that reduce tolerance to stressful environments and conditions related to addiction) Students must have the appropriate mental health that allows for full use of his/her intellectual capabilities at all times. This is important for the health of the patient, for whom the student will care for while a student and as a future physician. Mental health stability is required for effective communication and for professional, ethical, mature, sensitive, and compassionate patient care. Students must have the mental health stability to function effectively under the high degree of stress that is required to complete the curriculum, be successful during testing situations in medical school and in national board testing, and to be board certified after graduation. Students who have serious mental health disorders that impair their ability to function in stressful situations are not generally able to be successful in the curriculum or in the responsibilities required for safe and effective patient care. Students must be able to tolerate mentally taxing and emotionally taxing workloads. Applicants who have conditions that do not allow mentally taxing workloads must consider the long hours of study, the hours required in the classroom and laboratories, and the stress of test performance when applying.

Technical Requirements for Admission and Successful Completion of the Osteopathic Program and Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Policy Page 6 of 16