The education of a physician encompasses the following components: a preparatory phase in college; a rigorous professional education leading to the M.D. degree; postgraduate or residency training; and "lifelong" continuing education after the conclusion of formal training. Unlike most other professions, medicine awards its degree midway through the educational process and the degree certifies that the individual has acquired a broad base of knowledge and skills requisite for the practice of medicine. It must be emphasized that good patient care requires that the medical education process prepares an individual to be a broadly capable physician, irrespective of his or her career plans for later specialization. A broad medical education is, therefore, a prerequisite for entry into specialized postgraduate training programs which in turn require a common body of knowledge, skills, and behaviors.

Medical education requires that the accumulation of scientific knowledge be accompanied by the simultaneous acquisition of skills and professional attitudes and behavior. It is in the care of patients that the physician learns the application of scientific knowledge and skills. Faculties of medicine have immediate responsibilities to students and patients and ultimate responsibilities to society to graduate the best possible physicians. Admissions standards for medical school must be rigorous and exacting and admission must be extended only to those who are best qualified to fulfill the performance standards of medical schools.



Because the M.D. degree signifies that the holder is a physician prepared for entry into the practice of medicine within postgraduate training programs, it follows that graduates must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. Candidates for the M.D. degree must possess the requisite skills and abilities to satisfy the overall and course-specific requirements of the curriculum. The overall and course-specific requirements for the Weill Cornell Medical College are delineated in the Catalog, [published annually].

Candidates for the MD. degree must have somatic sensation, the functional use of the senses of vision and hearing, sufficient sensory and motor function, intellectual, and interpersonal skills to permit them to carry out the activities described in the sections that follow. They must be able to integrate consistently, quickly, and accurately all information received by whatever sense(s) employed, and they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.

A candidate for the M.D. degree must have abilities and skills in five areas: observation, communication, motor, intellectual (conceptual, integrative and quantitative), and behavioral and social. Technological compensation can be made feasible for some disabilities in certain of these areas but a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner. The use of a trained intermediary, a person trained to perform essential skills on behalf of the candidate, or a person used such that a candidate's judgment must be mediated by someone else's power of selection and observation, is not permitted.

1. Observation: The candidate must be able to observe required demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences, including but not limited to anatomic dissection, microscopic studies, and patient demonstrations. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision, hearing, and somatic sensation.
   
   
2. Communication: A candidate must 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 communication. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech, but also reading and writing in English. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health care team.
   
   
3. Motor: A candidate must have sufficient motor function to carry out the basic laboratory techniques and to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers, perform a dissection of a human cadaver, and have sufficient motor ability to use a microscope. A candidate should be able to perform a complete physical examination (including pelvic examination); diagnostic procedures (e.g., venipuncture and basic laboratory tests (e.g., urinalysis)) A candidate must be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of treatment reasonably required of physicians are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the suturing of simple wounds, assisting in surgical operations, and the performance of simple, general obstetrical and gynecological procedures. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch, vision, and hearing.
   
   
4. Intellectual- (Conceptual Integrative and Quantitative Abilities): Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physicians, requires that a candidate be able to learn, retrieve, analyze, sequence, organize, synthesize and integrate information efficiently, and reason effectively. In addition a candidate should possess the ability to measure and calculate accurately, to perceive three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.
   
   
5. Behavioral and Social Attributes: A candidate must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of his 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 and their family members, staff, and colleagues. Each candidate must be able to work effectively as a member of a health-care team. 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 to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, collegiality, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities that are assessed during the admission and education processes.

In addition to the abilities above, applicants and enrolled medical students must possess the general physical health necessary for performing the duties of a medical student and physician in training without endangering the lives of patients and/or colleagues with whom the student might have contact.



Applicants to the Medical College will be informed of the College’s required technical standards so that an informed judgment can be made by the applicant, and the Medical College, about whether the applicant is otherwise qualified and can meet the technical standards with or without accommodation. The technical standards will be included in material provided to prospective applicants.

1. Acceptance into the Medical College shall take into account the candidate’s ability to satisfy the technical standards.
   
   
2. As part of the application process, applicants are required to state whether they believe that they meet or do not meet the Medical College’s technical standards.
   
   
3. All candidates will be considered using the same standards and criteria of the admissions policy of the Medical College.
   
   
4. In the case of an interviewed applicant with a disability who has met the academic standards for admission to the Medical College, and in whom there is a question as to the student’s ability to meet the Medical College’s technical standards, a subcommittee appointed by the Chairman of the Admissions Committee, in consultation with the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) will assess the applicant's acceptability for admission based on the applicable technical standards.
   
   
5. The subcommittee will request that the applicant have submitted on his or her behalf appropriate documentation in regard to the disability from a qualified health professional. The subcommittee may ask that the health professional respond to one or more questions regarding the meeting of technical standards.
   
   
6. The subcommittee may, at its option, ask that the candidate himself or herself respond to one or more questions in regard to the meeting of the technical standards.
   
   
7. The subcommittee may, at its option, ask for a review of the supporting documentation by an appropriate specialist of the faculty of the Medical College and for that faculty member's comment in regard to the applicant’s meeting the technical standards.
   
   
8. All commenters will be asked to identify what accommodations, if any, the Medical College would need to make in order that the applicant might be able to meet the technical standards.
   
   
9. The subcommittee may communicate with the appropriate course directors, facilities managers, etc., concerning the feasibility of any needed accommodation.
   
   
10. The subcommittee will review the information received from all parties to determine if the applicant is able to meet the technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations.
    
    
11. The subcommittee will recommend acceptance of the candidate to the Committee on Admissions, if it is determined that the candidate meets the technical standards or will recommend rejection of the candidate, if it is determined that he or she does not meet the technical standards.

If an accepted applicant believes he or she will require an accommodation, he or she must contact the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) immediately upon accepting the offer of admission, so that arrangements for accommodations may begin promptly. Appropriate current documentation should accompany a request for accommodation. Before matriculation, accepted students must assert in writing that they believe they can meet the college’s technical standards.



Weill Cornell medical students must continue to meet the Medical College’s technical standards throughout their enrollment.

1. A student who develops or manifests a disability after matriculation may be identified to the Office of Academic Affairs through a variety of sources, e.g., self-report, a report of accident or illness , or faculty observations of special aspects of poor academic performance.
   
   
2. If the degree to which the student has become disabled raises questions related to meeting the technical standards, the matter will be referred to the Associate Dean (Student Affairs). The Associate Dean may request that the applicant have submitted on his or her behalf appropriate documentation in regard to the disability from a qualified health professional.
   
   
3. If a lack of compliance with the technical standards is not resolved by an informal administrative consultation and determination, it is referred to the Promotion and Graduation Committee, which will apply the policy for Suitability for the Practice of Medicine as a guideline for making decisions.
   
   
4. The ad hoc committee reviewing the student’s suitability for the practice of medicine will develop a recommendation as to the student's ability to continue in the medical school based on his or her ability to meet the technical standards of the Medical College. Proposed educational accommodations will be discussed with the appropriate course directors to be certain that there is agreement on how the student’s accommodation will be managed. If facilities accommodations are recommended, the committee will discuss these with the appropriate individuals to be certain that the needs for the disabled student can be provided. The ad hoc committee's recommendations will be discussed with the student or his or her representative in the event the student cannot attend.
   
   
5. The Promotion and Graduation Committee will review the recommendation of the ad hoc committee and make a decision about the student's status in the Medical College. The student will be given the opportunity to appeal to the full Committee if he or she disagrees with the ad hoc committee's recommendation.
   
   
6. When the Promotion and Graduation Committee recommends that the disabled student can meet the Medical College's technical standards, the ad hoc committee will develop a report on any educational program accommodations necessary.
   
   
7. Should the decision of the Promotion and Graduation Committee be to recommend to the Dean that the student’s enrollment in the Medical College be terminated, the appeals process discussed above in the section entitled Promotion and Graduation Standards and Procedures, will apply. The Office of Academic Affairs will work with the student as appropriate on potential alternative academic and/or career options.

(The Academic Regulations and Standards of Conduct policies were approved by the Executive Faculty Council, June 1, 2006 and by the General Faculty Council, June 19, 2006)