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LU Policy Number: AS.009
Effective Date: 9/4/2013
Approval Date: 9/4/2013
Revised Date: N/A
Purpose: Establishes the technical standards expected from the DC program
Additional Authority:
Scope: All Students of COC, Life University
Approval Authority: Provost/EVPAA
Responsible Authority: Academic Affairs-Student
Definitions: N/A
Policy Title
Technical Standards For The Doctor Of Chiropractic Program Policy
Policy Statement
Life University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended and the ADAA 2008. These laws provide a framework for qualified individuals with documented disabilities to request reasonable accommodations needed to participate in a program. Reasonable accommodations are defined as adjustments or modifications that enable a qualified individual with a documented disability to participate as fully as possible in an educational program. An adjustment or modification must be reasonable and may not be provided if it would alter essential academic or technical requirements or result in undue financial or administrative burdens
Qualified candidates with documented disabilities who wish to request accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act or the Rehabilitation Act must follow the University’s procedure for requesting an accommodation. This procedure requires the submission to the Student Success Center of a written request for accommodations, along with supporting documentation from a licensed professional demonstrating the existing of a disability, the functional limitations resulting from the disability, and the need for specific accommodations. Documentation must meet specific Guidelines, which are set forth in the Student Handbook.
Technical Standards for Admission
In addition to the general requirements for admission and continued enrollment, all applicants to Life University must be able to meet and maintain the University’s technical standards for the specific program for which they are applying or enrolled. Technical standards are those physical, behavioural, emotional, and cognitive criteria that an applicant must meet at the time of application to and during enrollment in that specific program at the University. These standards are essential requirements needed to participate fully and complete the entire spectrum of study, training and experiences within an educational program offered by the University. All official clinical and academic communications will be in English.
Applicants must review the technical standards that apply to the specific educational program in which they intend to enroll. All applicants are required to certify in writing that they have read, understand, and are able to meet and maintain the standards of that program with or without a reasonable accommodation. This information is provided in order to help every applicant be aware of the required performance and expectations associated with different educational programs that the University offers.
Chiropractic Students
Individuals who receive a Doctor of Chiropractic degree must be able to assume responsibility for providing chiropractic care to patients safely and ethically. Because the care provided by Doctors of Chiropractic touches a broad variety of clinical disciplines, the education for the D.C. degree must be broad in nature. All chiropractic students must take the full curriculum of academic and clinical courses in order to graduate with a D.C. degree. Chiropractic students must have the following abilities and skills:
- Sensory/Observation: A chiropractic student must be able to observe and participate in demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences including, but not limited to, demonstrations on human cadavers, animals, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A chiropractic student must be able to observe a patient accurately, both at a distance and nearby, using hearing, touch and vision. A chiropractic student must also be able to perform a thorough physical examination using customary diagnostic techniques, including but not limited to auscultation (listening with a stethoscope), percussion (tapping of the chest or abdomen to elicit a sound indicating the relative density of the body part), palpation (feeling various body parts such as the spine, extremities or abdomen so as to discern the size, shape, and consistency of masses and other pathologies), visual observation sufficient to note changes such as color and condition of the skin, the eyes and other areas of the body, to use instruments such as an otoscope (magnifying device for examining the ear), ophthalmoscope (magnifying device for examining the eye), and to note subtle changes in grey scale (viewed on x-rays and other diagnostic imaging).
- Communication: A student must be able to communicate with patients and their family members, in order to elicit information, describe changes in affect, mood, activity, and posture and to perceive nonverbal communications. A student must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing. The student must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form. In summary, a student must have verbal and written communication skills sufficient to conduct patient interviews and record clinical histories, communicate results of diagnostic findings, and make assessments and plans known to patients, their family members, and members of the health care team.
- Motor/Strength/Coordination: A student must have sufficient dexterity and motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, and percussion, to perform basic laboratory tests (urinalysis, CBC, etc.), to perform diagnostic procedures including but not limited to tools of physical examination (digital exams, chiropractic instrumentation, and read EKGs and X-rays). A student must also be able to coordinate both gross and fine muscular movements, balance, and equilibrium, in the provision of general chiropractic care. Student must be able to provide minimal emergency treatment required of healthcare providers, including the ability to perform quickly and effectively such emergency procedures as CPR, the application of pressure to stop bleeding and the opening of obstructed airways. Examples of general chiropractic care involve the requisite strength and dexterity to be able to effectively perform procedures such as but not limited to static and dynamic palpation of joints, movement of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment and sufficient motor function to coordinate and balance the hands and body while manually delivering the thrusting action associated with the controlled chiropractic adjustments frequently applied to the spine or extremities of a patient, and providing documentation in a legible format.
- Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include but are not limited to measurement, calculations, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Additionally, a student must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures. Problem solving in group, individual, and collaborative settings requires all of these intellectual abilities. Testing and evaluation of these abilities in the College of Chiropractic employ examinations as an essential component of the curriculum. Successful completion of these examinations is required of all candidates as a condition for continued progress through the curriculum. Examples of these assessments include but are not limited to essay, oral and/or extended multiple choice tests, compositions, oral presentations, and lab practicals designed to assess a variety of cognitive and non-cognitive skills in simulated or supervised clinical settings, including the ability to make a differential diagnosis. All written or word-processed information must be in a comprehensible format.
- Behavioral and Social Attributes: Students must possess the emotional health required for utilization of their intellectual abilities. Students must be able to exercise good judgment in the prompt completion of all academic and clinical responsibilities. Students must be able to develop mature, sensitive, ethical and effective relationships. Students must be able to function effectively under stress or potentially life-threatening emergency care. Stressors may include but are not limited to environmental, chemical, physical, or psychological. Students must also be able to adapt to change, display poise and flexibility in the face of uncertainties and stressful situations, and to independently demonstrate empathy, integrity, compassion, motivation, and commitment commensurate with the habits and mannerisms of professional training to become a chiropractor. Students must portray attributes of professionalism that include but are not limited to honesty, caring, respect, trustworthiness, competence, and responsibility to and for their colleagues and patients.
Applicants who will or are applying to the Doctor of Chiropractic Program are subject to the Technical Standards Policy as presented above and in the Life University Catalog.
I hereby certify that I have read and understood the Technical Standards Policy as listed above and in the Life University Catalog and am able to perform the essential and fundamental functions, requirements and tasks of the Doctor of Chiropractic Program with or without a reasonable accommodation.
Procedure(s)
N/A
Other Notes
Approved by Provost Council on 9/4/2013
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