SOM Admissions

Technical Standards for Medical School Admission, Continuation and Graduation

The mission of the University of Massachusetts Medical School is to graduate skilled and effective physicians. It is the responsibility of the faculty to select applicants from among residents of the Commonwealth who are best qualified to complete the required training and most likely to become the best possible physicians. Applicants are selected for admission to the school based not only on their scholastic achievement and ability, but also on their intellectual, physical and emotional capacities to meet the requirements of the school's curriculum and of a successful career in medicine. The faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical School recognizes that academic competency is essential for success in medical school. Such things as intellectual curiosity, undergraduate grades, and the MCAT examination help to demonstrate academic competency. The Admissions Committee is instructed to exercise its judgment on behalf of the faculty in selecting the entering class. The committee is asked to consider not only academic ability but also character, extracurricular achievement, commitment to service and overall suitability for the medical profession based upon information in the application, letters of recommendation, and personal interviews.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredits the medical school, requires that the curriculum provide a general professional education, enabling each student to pursue graduate training in a variety of disciplines. Also, one of the missions of University of Massachusetts Medical School is to graduate a significant number of generalist physicians. This requires the development of broad knowledge, skills, and behaviors, enabling ongoing self-directed learning, further training, and delivery of competent medical care. The faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical School believes that such a broad based and patient oriented curriculum is best suited for future generalists, specialists, and physician investigators. The basic sciences curriculum includes anatomy, biochemistry, histology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology and is designed to establish a core of knowledge necessary for clinical training. The clinical curriculum begins early in the first year and includes diverse experiences in primary care, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, diagnostic imaging, pathology, emergency medicine, geriatrics, and rehabilitation medicine in ambulatory and in-patient settings. These rotations provide a broad basis for the practice of medicine, regardless of the future choice of specialty. Each student is required by the faculty to pass each required course and clinical rotation to graduate.

The following technical standards specify those attributes the faculty considers necessary for completing medical school training, enabling each graduate to subsequently enter residency and clinical practice. These standards describe the essential functions students must demonstrate in order to fulfill the requirements of a general medical education, and thus, are pre-requisites for entrance, continuation, promotion, retention, and graduation from medical school.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School will consider for admission any applicant who meets its residency requirement, academic criteria, and demonstrates the ability to perform or to learn to perform the skills listed in this document, with or without reasonable accommodations consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Any applicant with questions about these technical requirements is strongly encouraged to discuss the issue with the ADA Student Coordinator prior to the interview process.

Certain chronic or recurrent illnesses that interfere with patient care or safety are not compatible with medical practice or training. Other conditions that may lead to a high likelihood of debilitating student illness should be carefully considered. Deficiencies in knowledge base, judgment, integrity, character, or professional attitude or demeanor, which may jeopardize patient care, may be grounds for course/rotation failure and possible dismissal.

A student must possess aptitude, abilities, and skills in five areas:

1. Observation
2. Communication
3. Sensory and Motor Function
4. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities
5. Behavioral and Social

These are described in detail above within each rescpective link. Students must be able to independently perform the described functions.