The abilities and skills which students must possess in order to complete the training associated with the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) Allied Health and Nursing Programs are referred to as Essential Functions or Technical Standards. These essential functions or technical standards are a group of minimal physical and cognitive abilities as well as sufficient mental and emotional stability to confirm that students are able to complete the entire course of study, participate fully in all aspects of training, and be deployable as competent Allied Health and Nursing students, with or without reasonable accommodation.
The NOVA Allied Health & Nursing programs have the ethical responsibility for the safety of patients with whom students will come in contact, and to the public to assure that its students can become fully competent Allied Health & Nursing professionals. It is important that persons admitted to our programs possess the intelligence, integrity, compassion, humanitarian concern, and physical and emotional capacity necessary to practice Allied Health & Nursing skills. Students must verify that they meet these essential functions or technical standards at the time of matriculation to our programs and maintain them during their training. Students are obligated to alert the Assistant Deans in Allied Health & the Associate Dean of Nursing of any change in their ability to fulfill the essential functions or technical standards. Students who do not meet the essential functions/technical standards are at risk of dismissal from the program.
These technical standards are based upon the minimum tasks performed by students in a Medical Laboratory Technology Program as recommended by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). NAACLS is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). These Essential Functions are reviewed annually by the NOVA Medical Laboratory Technology Advisory Committee.
Essential Function I: Observation
- Distinguish red, yellow, and blue colors, distinguish clear from cloudy, distinguish and discriminate objects in the range of 1 micron through the microscope.
- Observe demonstrations and exercises in which biological fluids are tested.
- Perceive pertinent detail in objects or in pictorial or graphic material; make visual comparisons and discriminations and see slight differences in shapes and shadings of figures, and widths and lengths of line; comprehend forms in space and understand relationships of plane and solid objects; visualize objects of two or three dimensions.
Essential Function II: Communication
- Communicate effectively and sensitively with patients, their families, and members of the health team.
- Communicate effectively with patients from different social and cultural backgrounds, as well as develop effective professional rapport with patients and co-workers.
- Record diagnostic results clearly, accurately, and efficiently.
- Communicate effectively in English with patients, family and other health care professionals in a variety of patient settings.
- Comprehend English when spoken in person or via the telephone.
Essential Function III: Motor
- Maneuver in the laboratory, around instruments, in confined spaces, and in patient rooms. Movement includes utilizing shoulders, arms, and neck; bending; twisting the body; standing; reaching and grasping overhead, in front of the body, and down.
- Manipulate small objects and control adaptive devices with gloved hands.
- Manipulate instruments, perform manual procedures, and have sufficient eye/hand and eye/hand/foot coordination to perform required duties in a laboratory.
Essential Function IV: Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities
- Demonstrate 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; and use of computer technology.
- Assimilate a large amount of complex, technical and detailed information.
- Discern abstract and concrete variables, define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
- Interpret instructions furnished in oral, written, diagrammatic, or schedule form.
- Perceive pertinent detail in verbal or tabular material; observe differences in copy, proofread words and numbers, and avoid perceptual errors in arithmetic computation.
- Synthesize, coordinate, analyze, compile, compute, copy, and compare data.
Essential Function V: Behavioral and Social Attributes
- Function effectively under stress and adapt to an environment that may change rapidly, without warning, and/or in unpredictable ways.
- Accept responsibility, exercise good judgment, and promptly complete all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients. Students must understand the legal and ethical standards of the medical profession.
- Work effectively, respectfully, and professionally as part of the healthcare team, and interact with patients, their families, and health care personnel in a courteous, professional, and respectful manner.
- Contribute to collaborative, constructive learning environments; accept constructive feedback from others; and take personal responsibility for making appropriate positive changes.
- Interact with individuals and/or groups from a range of social, cultural, emotional, and intellectual backgrounds.
- Comprehend and follow instructions; perform simple and repetitive tasks; maintain a work pace appropriate to a given work load; relate to other people beyond giving and receiving instructions; perform complex or varied tasks; make generalizations, evaluations, or decisions without immediate supervision; accept and carry out responsibility for directions, control and planning; maintain personal health and safety; and present a professional appearance.
Essential Function VI: Ethical and Legal Standards
- Comprehend and comply with the legal and ethical standards of the medical profession.
- Possess attributes that include compassion, empathy, altruism, integrity, responsibility, and tolerance.
- Recognize limitations in their knowledge, skills, and abilities and seek appropriate assistance with identified limitations.
Other Essential Functions
- Sufficient olfactory (smell) sense to maintain patients’ and environment safety.
- Ability to work indoors; be around moving machinery; fumes, gases, odors, irritating particles; possibly be exposed to toxic or caustic chemicals, blood and body fluids, noise, radiation or electrical energy, vibration; work in confined spaces; use a computer monitor; work alone, with others, and/or around others.
- Ability to wear safety glasses, face mask/shield, protective clothing, and protective gloves in the laboratory.