University of California San Francisco
UCSF School of Medicine UCSF Medical Center

Technical Standards

Updated On
April 16, 2025

Purpose

The technical standards are the nonacademic admissions and enrollment criteria that are essential to participation in medical school. These standards must be achieved with or without reasonable accommodations.

Overview

UCSF is committed to the full and equitable inclusion of qualified learners. We seek to train highly skilled and compassionate physicians. Our students and graduates are committed to professionalism, respect, integrity, diversity, and excellence, possess lifelong skills for learning and growth, and demonstrate a dedication to health equity. Students are expected to develop a robust medical knowledge base and the requisite clinical and system skills, with the ability to apply their knowledge and skills appropriately, effectively interpret information, and contribute to patient-centered decisions across a wide spectrum of medical situations and settings. The medical doctor (MD) degree is a broad undifferentiated degree attesting to general knowledge in medicine and the basic skills required for the practice of medicine. The School intends for its graduates to be able to enter residency training (graduate medical education), to be able to meet all requirements for medical licensure, and to be able to secure meaningful and gainful employment in the medical field. The avowed intention of an individual student to practice only a narrow part of clinical medicine, or to pursue a non-clinical career, does not alter the requirement that all medical students participate and achieve competence in the full curriculum required by the faculty.

The following technical standards, in conjunction with the academic standards, are requirements for admission, progression through the curriculum, and graduation. The term “candidate” refers to candidates for admission to medical school (pre-matriculate) as well as current medical students (enrolled students) who are candidates for enrollment, progression through curricular programs, or graduation. These requirements must be achieved with or without reasonable accommodations. Candidates with and without disabilities bring valuable perspectives that contribute to the diversity of the student population and a diverse healthcare workforce. Candidates with disabilities are encouraged to contact Student Disability Services (SDS) early in the application process to begin a confidential conversation about what accommodations they may need to meet these standards. Fulfillment of the technical standards for graduation from medical school does not guarantee that a graduate will be able to fulfill the technical requirements of any specific residency program, as each residency program will have its own technical requirements.

The technical standards have several broad categories including observation; communication; clinical skills; intellectual-conceptual, integrative, and cognitive skills; social and behavioral skills; and ethical and legal standards.

Related LCME Standards

10.5: Technical Standards

Principles

  1. The School of Medicine has a societal responsibility to train competent healthcare providers and scientists who demonstrate critical judgement, extensive knowledge, and well-honed technical skills.
  2. Students learn and work under the supervision of the faculty, and students interact with patients throughout their medical education. Patient safety and wellbeing are therefore major factors in the functions required of candidates for admission, progression through the curriculum, and graduation.
  3. Individuals whose performance is impaired by use of alcohol or other substances are not suitable candidates for admission, progression through curricular programs, or graduation.

Policy

  1. Description of the Technical Standards:
    The following abilities and characteristics are defined as technical standards and are requirements for admission, progression through curricular programs, and graduation. Candidates with disabilities who have questions regarding their ability to meet the technical standards should contact the Associate Dean for Students. Candidates who believe they may need to request reasonable accommodations in order to meet the standards are encouraged to contact Student Disability Services (SDS).
    1. OBSERVATION: Candidates must be able to acquire information as presented through curriculum, demonstrations, and experiences in the foundational sciences. Candidates must be able to participate in experiments of science, including but not limited to activities such as learning from cadavers; examination of specimens in anatomy, pathology, and neuroanatomy laboratories; and microscopic study of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. Candidates must be able to acquire information from patients and assess findings accurately. They must be able to conduct a complete physical examination in order to integrate findings based on this information and to develop an appropriate diagnostic and treatment plan.
    2. COMMUNICATION: Candidates must demonstrate interpersonal skills to enable effective caregiving of patients, including the ability to communicate effectively, efficiently, and in a timely manner with patients, families, peers, faculty, staff, and other members of the health care team. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Candidates must be able to obtain a medical history in a timely fashion to advance the care of the patient, accurately interpret verbal and nonverbal communication, and establish therapeutic relationships with patients. Candidates must be able to clearly and accurately record information.
    3. CLINICAL SKILLS: Candidates must, after a reasonable period of training, perform physical examinations and diagnostic maneuvers. They must be able to respond to clinical situations in a timely manner to advance the care of the patient and provide general and emergency care. Candidates must meet applicable safety standards for the environment and follow universal precaution measures.
    4. INTELLECTUAL-CONCEPTUAL, INTEGRATIVE, AND COGNITIVE SKILLS: Candidates must be able to interpret, assimilate, and analyze the detailed and complex information presented in the medical school curriculum. They must be able to learn through a variety of modalities including, but not limited to, large group instruction; small group discussion, team, and collaborative activities; individual study; preparation and presentation of reports; simulations; and use of technology. Candidates must be able to register, recall, measure, calculate, reason, analyze, synthesize, and transmit information in person and via technology. They must recognize and draw conclusions about three-dimensional spatial relationships and logical sequential relationships among events. They must be able to formulate and test hypotheses that enable effective and timely problem-solving in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in a variety of clinical settings and health care systems.
    5. BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL ATTRIBUTES: Candidates must demonstrate the maturity and emotional regulation required for full use of their intellectual abilities. They must accept responsibility for learning, exercise good judgment, and promptly complete all responsibilities attendant to their curriculum and to the diagnosis and care of patients. Candidates are expected to demonstrate personal accountability, engagement, consciousnesses, reliability, compassion, integrity, honesty, altruism, empathy, and collaboration. Candidates must be able to communicate with all individuals in a respectful and effective manner. Candidates must not discriminate against individuals based on gender identity, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other protected status. Candidates must be able to contribute to collaborative learning environments, accept constructive feedback from others, and take personal responsibility for making appropriate positive changes. Candidates must have the resilience and stamina to tolerate the workload of caring for patients and serving as members of a health care team. Candidates must be able to function under highly stressful situations, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility, and manage the uncertainty inherent in the care of patients and the health care system. Candidates must not be impaired by alcohol or other substances that impact their ability to interact safely and respectfully with patients, peers, staff, faculty, or members of the health care team.
    6. ETHICAL AND LEGAL STANDARDS: Candidates must understand and demonstrate understanding of the legal, ethical, and moral aspects of the practice of medicine and function within both the law and ethical standards of the medical profession. Specifically, candidates must meet the legal standards to be licensed to practice medicine in the State of California as well as the standards of the UCSF School of Medicine. As a California public institution, our mission is to educate the physician workforce for the State of California, understanding students may choose to practice in other locations. In addition to the AAMC AMCAS requirements, candidates for admission must acknowledge and provide written explanation to the School of Medicine of any felony offense(s), misdemeanor offense(s), and institutional action(s) taken against them prior to matriculation or while enrolled at the School of Medicine. This disclosure is required of all charges and convictions, including expunged and diverted offenses. This includes, but is not limited to, violent misdemeanors and substance use violations. Institutional actions include, but are not limited to, violations of Title IX, Title VII, or other institutional policies. In addition, after matriculation, students who are enrolled in the UCSF School of Medicine’s medical education program must immediately notify the Associate Dean for Students of any arrest, charge, conviction or institutional investigation or action occurring thereafter. Felony conviction or failure to disclose prior or new offenses can lead to disciplinary action by the School that may include dismissal.
  2. Ability to Meet the School of Medicine's Technical Standards:
    The School of Medicine intends for its students and graduates to become competent and compassionate physicians through an undifferentiated medical degree and to be eligible to enter residency training (graduate medical education). Additionally, students must meet all requirements for medical licensure. Criminal background checks may be conducted as part of the process of admission, progression through curricular programs, and/or graduation.
  3. Equal Access to the School of Medicine's Educational Program:
    UCSF has a proud history of training physicians with and without disabilities and provides reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with disabilities who apply for admission to the MD degree program and who are enrolled as medical students. Otherwise qualified individuals will not be excluded from admission or participation in the School of Medicine's educational programs and activities based solely on their status as a person with a disability.

    Candidates, prior to enrollment and throughout enrollment, who wish to request accommodations in order to meet the technical standards are encouraged to self-disclose to Student Disability Services (SDS).

    Candidates are encouraged to contact SDS to identify a reasonable accommodation through an interactive process. The School is required by law to provide reasonable accommodations for students. Candidates may need to provide documentation of the disability and the specific functional limitations during the registration process with SDS.

    Candidates who do not register with SDS or who do not provide necessary documentation shall not be considered to be requesting or seeking accommodations. Accommodations are not applied retroactively. Candidates should notify the Associate Dean for Students if there are extenuating circumstances impacting the timeliness to request an accommodation.

    While the medical education deans work in consultation with SDS in the interactive process to determine and coordinate approved reasonable accommodations, disability documentation remains confidential.
  4. Referral for In-Depth Review of a Candidate’s Ability to Meet Technical Standards:
    In circumstances when candidates are not able to meet the technical standards, the candidate may be dismissed, disqualified, or discontinued in accordance with the Academic Senate Appendix IV Bylaws, Regulations, and Procedures of the School of Medicine. Candidates who are no longer able to meet the technical standards even with reasonable accommodations are eligible for dismissal. Proposed dismissals are referred to the Committee on Academic Standards for an in-depth review. The Committee on Academic Standards is responsible for determining whether the candidate can or cannot meet the described technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations. The determination of this committee will be reported to Vice Dean for Education who will communicate the outcome to the candidate.

Procedure

  1. Candidates must attest to the technical standards prior to enrollment and at each phase of medical school as listed below. They are also directed to contact the Associate Dean for Students if they need to report an institutional action or felony charge whenever the action or charge occurs. Compliance for this attestation is monitored by the Student Records Analyst.
    1. Admitted students must attest to the technical standards prior to enrollment in the School of Medicine.
    2. Foundations 1 students must attest to the technical standards during their first month of Foundations 1.
    3. Foundations 2 students must attest to the technical standards before the start of Foundations 2.
    4. Career Launch students must attest to the technical standards before the start of Career Launch.
  2. Candidates who do not meet the technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations may be disqualified, discontinued, or eligible for dismissal. For proposed dismissals, the candidate will be referred to the Committee on Academic Standards. This committee is responsible for making a determination of whether or not a candidate can meet the technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations through an in-depth review. The determination of this committee will be reported to Vice Dean for Education who will communicate the outcome to the candidate.

 

Accountable Dean or Director: Associate Dean for Admissions, Associate Dean for Students
Approval and Governing Body: April 01, 2020 CCEP                                                                                                                                          Updated: April 08, 2025