SMU’s technical standards ensure that students are able to participate in classroom, laboratory, and clinical activities; communicate effectively with patients, faculty, peers, and health care team members; perform required diagnostic and clinical tasks; apply medical knowledge and reasoning; and demonstrate the judgment and professionalism necessary for patient care.

The technical standards address the core abilities expected of medical students, including:

1. Observation: Candidates must be able to observe and participate in demonstrations, visual presentations, lectures, laboratories, and clinical activities. They must be able to observe patients accurately and completely, both from a distance and at close range. This requires functional vision, hearing, and somatic sensation, and may be enhanced by the sense of smell. Candidates must also be able to understand three-dimensional relationships and the spatial relationships of anatomical structures.
2. Communication: Candidates must be able to communicate effectively, sensitively, and independently with patients in order to obtain information, recognize nonverbal cues, and describe changes in mood, activity, and posture. Candidates must be able to communicate through speech, reading, and writing. Oral and written communication with faculty, peers, patients, and members of the health care team must be effective, accurate, and timely.
3. Motor Function: Candidates must have sufficient motor function to obtain information from patients through palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. They must be able to perform or interpret basic clinical and laboratory procedures, including but not limited to phlebotomy, intravenous cannulation, rectal and pelvic examinations, splinting, electrocardiograms, and radiographic studies. Candidates must also be able to perform motor movements reasonably required to provide general patient care and emergency treatment, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, administration of intravenous medication, application of pressure to control bleeding, opening obstructed airways, suturing simple wounds, and performing basic obstetrical maneuvers. These activities require coordination of gross and fine motor skills, equilibrium, and functional use of touch, vision, and hearing.
4. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: Candidates must possess the intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities necessary for problem solving, clinical reasoning, and medical decision-making. They must be able to assimilate, integrate, and apply large volumes of information from multiple sources and educational experiences in a timely and effective manner.
5. Behavioral and Social Attributes: Candidates must demonstrate the behavioral, social, and professional attributes necessary to exercise sound judgment, use intellectual abilities appropriately, complete responsibilities in a timely manner, and participate in the diagnosis and professional care of patients. They must be able to function effectively within the academic and clinical environment and uphold standards of professionalism expected of medical students and future physicians.