Technical Standards
Technical Standards of Performance for Physician Assistant Students
The granting of a Masters of Science degree and Certificate of Completion to a physician assistant student signifies that the holder is an individual prepared for entry-level employment as a PA. In a professional role, the physician assistant must be able to provide medical services within the scope and laws of medical practice and their supervising physician. Thus, for the safety and welfare of patients, physician assistants must be able to demonstrate the technical knowledge and skills required for the delivery of health care services to a wide range of primary care patients. The technical skills quoted herein are essentially the same as those required of medical students and enumerated in the Sanford School of Medicine Student Affairs Handbook.
Candidates for the physician assistant profession must have the functional use of all five senses. A candidate's diagnostic skills would be lessened without the functional use of the senses of vision, hearing, equilibrium, smell and taste. They must also have sufficient exteroceptive sense (touch, pain and temperature), adequate proprioceptive sense (position, pressure, movement, stereognosis and vibratory), as well as adequate motor skills necessary to carry out the activities described in the sections that follow. Candidates must also be able to integrate all information received by their senses to quickly and accurately function intellectually. This includes the ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.
A candidate for the physician assistant profession must have the abilities and skills associated with observation, communication, motor, conceptual, integrative/quantitative, and behavioral/social skills. Adjustments can be made for some handicaps, but all candidates should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner.
I. 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 up close. 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.
II. 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 and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health care team.
III. Motor:
Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion and other diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate should be able to do basic laboratory tests, carry out treatment and diagnostic procedures, and read EKGs and x-rays. A candidate should be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment of patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physician assistants are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, the suturing of simple wounds and the performance of simple obstetrical maneuvers. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
IV. 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.
V. Behavioral and Social Attributes:
A candidate must possess the emotional health and stability required for full utilization of his/her 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 learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that are assessed during the admissions and education processes.