Technical Standards for Admissions to
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Physician Assistant Program

Essential Functions Required For Admission, Continuation, and Graduation

A candidate for the Master of Medical Science degree in Physician Assistant Studies must be able to demonstrate intellectual-conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; skills in observation, communication and motor functions; and mature behavioral and social attributes. Technological compensation can be made for some handicaps in certain of these areas, but a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner without a trained intermediary. (The use of a trained intermediary means that a candidate’s judgment must be mediated by someone else’s power of selection and observation.)

Observation: The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences, including but not limited to physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations in animals, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and somatic sensation. It is enhanced by the functional use of the sense of smell.

Communication: A candidate should be able to speak, to hear, and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity, and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively in oral and written form with all members of the health care team.

Motor: Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpatation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate should be able to execute motor activities reasonably required to provide general care, to perform diagnostic procedures, and to provide emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physician assistants are cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the administration of intravenous medication, and the application of pressure to stop bleeding. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.

Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physician assistants, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the candidate should be able to comprehend three dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.

Behavorial and Social Attributes: A candidate must possess the emotional heath required for full utilization of 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 must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They must be able 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. Commitment to excellence, service orientation, goal setting skills, academic ability, self-awareness, integrity, and interpersonal skills are all personal qualities that are assessed during the admission and education process. Because the nature of medical education is based on a mentoring process, candidates are expected to be able to accept criticism and respond by appropriate modification of behavior.