Rutgers School of Health Professions (SHP) is the nation’s largest, leading health care professions school with 40 academic programs ranging from entry-level health care programs to advanced degrees and certificates designed to prepare practicing health care professionals to reach their career goals. SHP is committed to standards and policies that ensure all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability status, public assistance status, veteran status or sexual orientation.

The term “candidate” refers to candidates for admission to SHP schools as well as current SHP students who are enrolled and seek to progress and graduate.

Candidates must develop broad knowledge, skills, behaviors and a commitment to ongoing self-directed learning that will enable them to serve as competent, ethical health care professionals and render a spectrum of care in the health care fields. In addition to the clearly defined academic standards and program requirements specified within each school, SHP has identified a general set of technical standards that specify the non-academic attributes, abilities, and skills candidates must demonstrate for admission, progression, retention and graduation from SHP. The following technical standards are required for admission, progression and graduation from all SHP programs. It is important that candidates read and understand each standard. Please note that some programs may not require clinical experiences.

Admission to SHP is conditional on the candidate’s ability to achieve and meet these technical standards in conjunction with the academic standards, with or without the use of reasonable accommodations. The admissions process examines all of the skills, attitudes, and attributes of each candidate on a case-by-case basis. SHP adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards of the health care professions. In doing so, the SHP reserves the right to deny admission to candidates or to discharge candidates who, upon completion of the interactive process, cannot meet these technical standards or who would be deemed to pose a threat to patients or others in the educational or clinical environment.

Technical Standards for the School of Health Professions:

A candidate for any SHP program must be able to achieve abilities and skills, which include those that are observational, communicational, intellectual/conceptual, dexterity/motor, and behavioral and social. The following technical standards are required of all candidates for admission, matriculation, progression, and graduation, with or without the use of reasonable accommodations.

Observation Skills

Candidates must be able to acquire a defined level of information as presented through educational experiences in the health sciences including, but not limited to, the basic and clinical sciences; health information; health care management; or health sciences research. Candidates are required to observe and acquire this information through the classroom, laboratory/clinical, and/or the web-based environment. Information may also be conveyed through physiologic and/or pharmacological demonstration in animals, microbiological cultures and microscopic images of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states, and health information data. Such observations and educational experiences may require travel to facilities located at non-University owned campuses or properties.

Communication Skills

Candidates must be able to communicate in English with clarity, sensitivity, and accuracy to patients/consumers, care-givers, and members of health care teams, faculty, staff and peers from a variety of educational and cultural backgrounds and at their levels of understanding. Communication includes the candidate’s ability to make a correct judgment in seeking supervision and consultation in a timely manner.

Candidates must exhibit interpersonal skills to enable effective caregiving, including the ability to communicate effectively, with all members of a multidisciplinary health care team, patients/consumers, and those supporting patients. Candidates must be able to clearly and accurately record information and accurately interpret verbal, written and nonverbal communication. Computer literacy is also a component of effective communication, including communicating via e-mail, the University’s course management system, and other educational electronic technology utilized by the University in the conduct of its educational programs. Communication includes the candidate’s ability to make a correct judgment in seeking supervision and consultation in a timely manner.

Intellectual/Conceptual Abilities

Candidates are required to accurately measure, calculate, reason, analyze, process, integrate, synthesize, apply and retain facts, concepts and data related to the art and science of health care including pertinent legal and ethical issues with or without reasonable accommodations. A candidate must effectively assimilate, understand, interpret and apply complex information and data to the clinical reasoning required to function within their SHP program curriculum. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to: comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand spatial relationships of structures; effectively participate in individual, small-group, and lecture learning modalities in the classroom, clinical and community settings; learn, participate, collaborate and contribute as a part of a team; synthesize information both in person and via remote technology; perceive and interpret causal relationships to make accurate, evidence-based conclusions; and formulate a hypothesis, investigate the potential answers and outcomes, integrate knowledge of psychosocial factors, and reach appropriate and accurate conclusions.

Dexterity/Motor Skills

Candidates must possess the ability to perform the necessary movements reasonably required to conduct allied health work in his/her particular program or profession. These may include, but are not limited to: diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers and procedures, such as the use of clinical instruments, laboratory tests and handling and transferring patients. Candidates must also be able to perform prescribed preventive techniques (properly wash hands, wear protective devices, etc.) and standard precautions to minimize exposing him/herself and others to pathogens (e.g., bacteria and viruses).

Behavioral and Social Skills

Candidates must demonstrate emotional stability with appropriate interpersonal relationships and communication skills. Candidates must be able to exercise good judgment and sustain an attention level necessary to complete all responsibilities promptly; be attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and develop mature, sensitive, professional and effective relationships with patients/clients (in well and diseased states from every gender, socioeconomic status and cultural group) and health care workers. Candidates must be able to tolerate taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. Candidates 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 setting. Candidates are expected to exhibit professionalism, personal accountability, motivation and interpersonal skills including the ability to accept and apply feedback and to respect boundaries and care for all individuals in a respectful and effective manner regardless of gender identity, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other protected status.

Candidates must have appropriate hygiene and a professional appearance. Candidates must possess the emotional health required to fully utilize their intellectual abilities, exercise good judgment, work as effective members of a healthcare team, and function successfully under emotionally, intellectually, and physically demanding workloads. This requires responsibility for one’s personal actions and emotional stability in stressful situations, with long hours and personal fatigue, dissatisfied patients, and tired colleagues. Candidates must be able to develop skills necessary to recognize when they may need the support or assistance of other health care professionals and seek help when needed.

General Guidelines for Technical Standards:

If a student’s ability to meet the program’s technical standards, with or without accommodations, comes into question, a review will be conducted to determine the student’s fitness to continue in the program.  The review will be initiated by the Student Affairs Office and the case will be referred to an ad-hoc Technical Standards Advisory Committee (TSAC). This review may include an independent evaluation and/or testing by a health care provider designated by the School. In circumstances where the health care provider determines that a student may not be able to meet the technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations**, it is the responsibility of the ad-hoc Technical Standards Advisory Committee to consider that determination and work with the student’s school to decide on next steps, including possible change of program, leave of absence, suspension or dismissal, as appropriate to the case.

**The student has the right to request a second evaluation from a provider of their own choice, at their own expense, and must sign a release allowing School officials full access to the information, including contact with the selected provider.

Reasonable Accommodations:

SHP will provide reasonable accommodations, according to University policies and procedures, to otherwise qualified candidates with documented disabilities unless: (a) such accommodations impose undue hardship to the institution, or (b) direct threats of substantial harm to the health and safety of others due to the disability and cannot be eliminated by any reasonable accommodations, or (c) such accommodations fundamentally alter the educational program or academic standards.

A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to an instructional activity, facility, program or service that enables a qualified student with a disability to have an equal opportunity to participate in all Rutgers University student activities. To be eligible for accommodations, a student must have a documented disability as defined by the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The ADA, the ADAAA and Section 504 all define disability as (a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual; (b) a record of such impairment; or (c) being regarded as having such a condition.

These technical standards are not intended to deter any candidate for whom reasonable accommodation would allow the fulfillment of the complete curriculum.

Immunization and Health Requirements

Enrollment and continued enrollment of accepted students to the RBHS School of Health Professions is conditional, based on fulfillment of immunization and health requirements (see RBHS policy 00-01-45:52:00- Student Immunizations and Health Requirements) and the HIV, HBV and HCV policy (RBHS Policy 00-01-40-40:10 -Management of Occupational/Educational Exposures to HIV, HBV and HCV).

Anyone with general questions related to this form or its contents should contact the SHP Enrollment Management at 973-972-5454 or email at shpadm@shp.rutgers.edu.  Anyone with questions about accommodations or in need of reasonable accommodations in order to meet the Technical Standards for Admission, Matriculation and Program Completion should contact the RBHS Office of Disability Services at 973-972-5396 or email ODSRBHS@rutgers.edu. Additional information about the RBHS Office of Disability Services may be found at http://ods.rbhs.rutgers.edu/.

ADDENDUM TO TECHNICAL STANDARDS

Program-specific Technical Standards

Clinical Laboratory Science, Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science and Master of Science in Cytopathology – Entry-level program students only.

Observational Skills

Distinguish colors of tubes, reagents, labels, test strips, instruments, microscopic cells and structures, biological specimens and on any other device or printout used in a diagnostic laboratory procedure with or without accommodations. Characterize color, odor, clarity, and viscosity of biologic specimens, cultures, reagents, or products of chemical reactions, with or without accommodations.

Acknowledgements:

By signing below, I ____________________________________________ hereby certify that I have read and understand the Technical Standards for Admission, Progression and Graduation at the School of Health Professions.

Additionally, I acknowledge that I have access to the information on the technical and academic standards required for admission, matriculation, progression and completion of the SHP program. If I require any reasonable accommodations in order to perform these functions, I agree to request accommodations by promptly registering for services: https://ods.rutgers.edu/students/registering-for-services.  I understand that in collaboration with the School of Health Professions, the RBHS Office of Disability Services will evaluate the reasonableness of accommodations before approving any requests.

If my circumstances should change related to these technical standards, I will promptly notify the School of Health Professions, Office of Enrollment Management.

PRINT NAME: ___________________________________________________________________

SIGNATURE: ___________________________________________________DATE: ____________

RU ID or A00: _________________________

PLEASE RETURN THIS SIGNED FORM TO:

Email – shpadm@shp.rutgers.edu
Fax – 973-972-7463

Mail – SHP Office of Enrollment Management
Rutgers, The State University of NJ
65 Bergen Street, Suite 149
Newark, NJ 07107

Please contact the Rutgers-SHP Enrollment Management Department with any questions regarding completion of this Technical Standards form at 973-972-5454.