Criminal Background Check and Drug Screening
The School of Medicine adopts the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) recommendation to ascertain the ability of students to eventually become licensed physicians in the future, enhance the safety and well-being of patients, and to ensure the public’s continuing trust in the medical profession through criminal background checks and substance abuse reviews.
Criminal Background Check
Applicants and candidates for admission must disclose any arrest for and/or criminal charges of criminal activity at application or within five days of the incident. Completion of a criminal background check is required for all candidates for admissions and annually thereafter. A criminal background check includes all convictions and conviction-equivalent adjudications, plus all arrests without final adjudication, felonies and misdemeanors.
Drug Screening
Candidates for admission must complete a 10-panel drug screening prior to matriculation and annually thereafter. The drug screening is conducted through a third party vendor contracted with the School of Medicine. Any adverse findings are reviewed by the School of Medicine and could result in revocation of the admissions offer.
Other Requirements
Immunizations
The School of Medicine requires proof of immunity or inoculation to certain diseases for the safety of patients and others. This proof is required at admission and through graduation and must remain up-to-date and compliant in order to be cleared for medical education training. Entering medical students will be provided instruction and deadlines regarding immunizations during the onboarding process. The student is financially responsible for immunizations.
Health Insurance
The School of Medicine requires all students to carry health insurance during their enrollment periods.
Technical Standards
Essential abilities and characteristics required for completion of the M.D. degree consist of minimum physical and cognitive abilities, and mental and emotional health to assure that students, at admission, promotion, and graduation, are able to complete the entire course of study and participate fully in all aspects of medical training, with or without reasonable accommodation.
The following abilities and characteristics are defined as technical standards, which in conjunction with the standards established by the faculty, are requirements for admission, promotion and graduation. Requests for University-provided accommodations will be provided if the requests are reasonable, do not cause a fundamental alteration of the medical education program, do not pose a direct threat to the health or safety of self-and/or other, do not cause an undue hardship on the University, are consistent with the standards of the medical profession, and are recommended by the TCU Student Access and Accommodation Office.
Observational Skills
Students are required to be able to observe demonstrations, participate and engage in the basic and clinical sciences, including but not limited to the observation of cadaveric dissection, radiologic studies, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. Students are required to be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand and recognize appropriate altered functions or conditions. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision, hearing and somatic sensation or the functional equivalent.
Communication Skills
Students are required to be able to communicate effectively in oral and written form, empathetically with patients, their families, and members of the health care team. They are required to be able to obtain a relevant and comprehensive medical history.
Motor Skills
Students, after a reasonable period of training, should possess the ability to gather information and perform physical examinations and diagnostic maneuvers. Students should be able to respond to clinical situations in a timely manner and provide general and emergency care. Examples of emergency care reasonably required of physicians 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 some functional mobility, coordination of both gross and fine, motor neuromuscular function and balance and equilibrium or the functional equivalent.
Intellectual-Conceptual Skills and Cognitive Skills
Students are required to be able to assimilate the detailed and complex information presented in the medical student curriculum. They should be able to learn through a variety of modalities including, but not limited to classroom instruction, small group team and collaborative activities, individual study, preparation and presentation of reports, simulation and use of computer technology. Students are required to be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze, synthesize and transmit information. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physicians, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the student should be able to comprehend three-dimensional spatial relationships and to understand the logical sequential relationships of structures and among events. They are required to be able to formulate and test hypotheses that enable effective and timely problem-solving in diagnosis and treatment of patients in a variety of clinical settings and health care systems.
Behavioral Attributes, Social Skills and Professional Expectations
Students should possess the emotional health required for full utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to their curriculum and to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients and the healthcare team. Students should be able to tolerate or manage physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They should be aware that, at times, their presence is required during the day, evening and night hours, up to seven days a week. Students should be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients in a competent and professional manner. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that are assessed during the admissions and education processes. Students should understand relevant legal and ethical aspects of the practice of medicine and function within both the law and ethical standards of the medical profession.