AP3. Technical Standards
Becoming a physical therapist requires the completion of a professional education program that is both intellectually and physically challenging. Therefore, all students must be able to meet the technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, to succeed in fulfilling requirements for the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. Upon request to Accessibility Resources within the Office of Student and Alumni Services, reasonable accommodations will receive due consideration. Efforts will be made by the program to arrange clinical education experiences in environments where appropriate accommodations can be made; however, clinical sites may not be able to provide specific accommodations. While the IHP will make every effort to work with students with disabilities to accommodate their disability-related needs, we are not required to provide requested accommodations that would fundamentally alter the essential qualifications, functions, technical standards, or other academic requirements of the program, or result in an undue financial or administrative burden to the Program or Institute.
Any applicant with questions about using accommodations to meet these technical standards is strongly encouraged to contact Accessibility Resources within the Office of Student and Alumni Services at ihpar@mghihp.edu.
Students must be able to demonstrate thorough, efficient and reliable achievement of the following technical standards in all academic and clinical settings.
Communication Functions
- Read, understand and communicate information in written and spoken formats using the English language.
- Attend, selectively and in a controlled manner, to written, spoken and non-verbal communication in both quiet and noisy environments.
Cognitive Functions
Use a variety of sources, including reading material, lecture, discussion, personal conversation, observation, and physical examinations to:
- Recall, interpret, extrapolate and apply information.
- Measure, analyze, synthesize and evaluate information from a variety of sources.
- Gather and prioritize information needed to solve a problem.
- Respond appropriately to emerging problems and potentially hazardous situations by making timely judgments to react effectively and seek assistance when necessary.
- Demonstrate basic computer literacy including common software.
Affective Functions
- Interact with other individuals utilizing tone, attitude, and body language that demonstrate respect for others.
- Establish trusting, empathetic and non-judgmental relationships with a variety of individuals.
- Examine and change their behavior when it interferes with productive relationships with others.
- Attend to cognitive, communication, and psychomotor tasks for as long as ten hours/day.
- Actively participate (listen, attend, read, engage in physical activity, communicate, etc.) in learning in a variety of settings, including classrooms, labs, team/group meetings and clinical settings.
- Meet established deadlines.
- Demonstrate successful coping behaviors.
- Demonstrate core values of honesty, integrity, and accountability (See AP-5).
- Reason and act in an ethical manner.
Psychomotor functions
- Possess physical strength, stamina, balance, movement control hand-eye coordination and dexterity required to perform patient care tasks in a manner that does not compromise the safety of self or others.
- Perform intermittent physical activity of the whole body throughout an eight to twelve-hour period.
- Engage in complex, coordinated movements needed during a variety of activities including skills lab practice; patient examination, intervention, and guarding; CPR, etc.
- Use auditory, visual, and tactile senses to receive information from written, spoken, and non-verbal communication mechanisms; observation of human structures; postures and movements; and equipment and or technology.
- Physically respond quickly to sudden or unexpected events or movements of others.