Technical Requirements

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The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) has embraced our mission of educating students to be exceptional physician assistants (PAs). The USM Physician Assistant Studies program will graduate students with the ability to function in a wide variety of clinical settings. Medicine is a physically and mentally demanding profession, and medical providers are expected to place the interests of their patients above their own. The USM Physician Assistant Studies program has a responsibility to train PAs who are able to care for their patients. USM is supportive of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 2008 (ADA) and will provide opportunities for qualified individuals with disabilities. The USM Physician Assistant studies program will provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities who are otherwise qualified to complete the essential functions of a medical provider. However, the safety and welfare of a patient shall never be put in jeopardy as a result of an effort to accommodate a disability. 

The PAs must be able to practice safely. All applicants must meet these technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations. These standards ensure that an applicant has the ability to perform the requirements of the USM Physician Assistant Studies program and to practice medicine safely and responsibly. Students must meet curricular requirements, pass tests and evaluations, and successfully participate in clinical experiences, with or without reasonable accommodations. Students must demonstrate they can perform the technical standards upon matriculation through graduation from PA school. Any student claiming a disability and seeking an academic adjustment or reasonable accommodation must follow the procedures outlined below.

Specifically, a student in the University of Southern Mississippi Physician Assistant Studies program must have adequate abilities and skills in the following five areas:

• • Observation
  • Communication
  • Sensory and Motor Function
  • Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities
  • Behavioral and Social Attributes

Observation

Students must be able to:

• • Accurately and actively observe and participate in demonstrations, lab exercises, and patient care scenarios.
  • Acquire information from electronic media, written documents, films, slides or videos. 
  • Interpret X-ray and other graphic images such as EKG's, with or without the use of corrective or assistive devices. 

Thus, functional use of vision, receptive communication and sensation are necessary.

Communication

Students must be able to:

• • Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients in order to collect relevant information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, perceive non-verbal communications, and convey necessary medical information. 
  • Communicate effectively and efficiently with other members of the health care team. Communication includes not only speech or face-to-face communication but reading and writing.
  • Understand and convey information essential for the safe and effective care of patients in a clear, unambiguous and rapid fashion In emergency situations. 
  • Relate information to and receive information from patients in a caring and confidential manner. Since the health care team communicates in English, the Student must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in English, in speech or other face-to-face communication, reading and writing. They must be capable of completing appropriate medical records and documents and plans according to the protocol in a thorough and timely manner.

Sensory and motor function

Students must: 

• • Possess motor skills sufficient to perform palpation, percussion, auscultation, and other basic diagnostic maneuvers. 
  • Be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide basic medical care, such as airway management, placement of catheters, suturing, phlebotomy, application of sufficient pressure to control bleeding, simple obstetrical maneuvers, etc. Such actions require coordination of gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision. 
  • Be able to perform all of the procedures and treatments as may be required by a particular course or clinical rotation. 
  • Have the ability to remain awake and alert. 
  • Have sufficient stamina to sit, stand, and move within classroom, laboratory, examination rooms, treatment rooms, and operating rooms for long periods, 
  • Be able to arrange for transportation between educational and clinical settings.

Intellectual-conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities

Physician assistants must: 

• • Effectively solve clinical problems, having the ability to measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and synthesize. 
  • Be able to independently access and interpret medical histories and identify significant findings from history, physical examination, and laboratory data; 
  • Provide a reasoned explanation for likely diagnoses and prescribed medications and therapy, and recall and retain information in an efficient and timely manner. 
  • Have the ability to incorporate new information from peers, teachers, and the medical literature in formulating diagnoses and plans combined with skills in patient assessment and diagnostic and therapeutic planning is essential.

Behavioral and social attributes

Students must:

• • Use their intellectual capacity, exercise good judgment, and promptly complete all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis under potentially stressful and/or emergency circumstances. 
  • Be able to develop effective, therapeutic relationships with patients. 
  • Be able to adaptable in the face of uncertainties inherent in the practice of medicine. Compassion, integrity, ethical standards, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that will be assessed during the admissions and educational process. 
  • Be able to use supervision appropriately and act independently when indicated.
  • Be willing to accept and assimilate appropriate suggestions and criticism and, if necessary, respond by modifying their behavior. The unpredictable needs of patients are at the heart of becoming a physician assistant. Academic and clinical responsibilities of students may require their presence during day and evening hours, any day of the week, at unpredictable times and for unpredictable durations of time. 
  • Be able to tolerate physically and mentally taxing workloads and function effectively under stress. 
  • Be able to adapt to changing environments, display flexibility and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of patients.

When indicated, students unable to resolve deficiencies in these areas with appropriate accommodation will be counseled to pursue alternate career paths.

The information presented here is planned for the USM Physician Assistant Studies Program providing accreditation is received from the regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the PA Program accreditor, ARC-PA.