Technical Standards

University of Saint Francis
Health Profession Program Technical Standards

The University of Saint Francis has identified non-academic technical standards critical to the success of students in the healthcare programs. These standards are designed not to be exclusionary, but to establish performance expectations that will enable students to provide safe patient practice with or without accommodations.

The standards are program requirements, not individual functional ability requirements.

1. Observation: Candidates and students must be able to observe lectures, demonstrations, research and patient situations in the practice of health care professions. Observation is necessary to perform competent health assessments and interventions and necessitates functional use of vision, hearing, tactile and somatic senses.
2. Communication: Candidates and students must have the ability to use multiple communication techniques (verbal, written, nonverbal, group processes, and information technology) that enable them to communicate effectively with clients, teachers and all members of the health care team. They must be able to speak, read and write in English. Candidates and students must be able to report to members of the health care team, express appropriate information to others, communicate with sensitivity and teach, explain, direct and counsel clients.
3. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: Candidates and students must have the ability to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize data in a timely manner. Problem solving, a critical skill demanded of health care practitioners, requires all these intellectual abilities. Additionally, candidates and students must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures.
4. Motor Skills: Candidates and students must possess fine and gross motor function necessary to perform patient assessment and therapeutic interventions. Such interventions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, stamina, equilibrium and functional use of touch and vision.
5. Behavioral and Social Attributes: Candidates and students must possess the emotional health required for full use of their intellectual abilities, demonstration of good judgment, prompt and safe completion of all responsibilities, and development of mature and effective relationships with patients. They must be able to work cooperatively with others, adapt to rapidly changing environments, think clearly and tolerate physically and mentally taxing workloads under stressful situations. Additionally they must demonstrate moral reasoning and ethical behaviors.

In addition to the technical standards stated above, students must be able to successfully complete all required components of the curriculum.

1. Tests and Evaluations: Periodic examinations, both written and practical, are an essential component of the curriculum. In order to progress through the curriculum students must successfully fulfill examination requirements.
2. Clinical Assessment: Essential to the success of a student enrolled in a health care program is the demonstration of clinical competency. The process of evaluation of the clinical performance is an essential component of the curriculum. Participation in clinical experiences and evaluation of that performance is required.

It is the policy of University of Saint Francis to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities to provide equal opportunity to meet the performance and technical standards. Determination of a reasonable accommodation will be considered on an individual basis and is an interactive collaboration with the disability services director, the student, faculty advisor, and Program Director when indicated. Students with disabilities will adhere to the same admission, progression, dismissal, and readmission policies as all students.