their own merit, and to secure reasonable
accommodations from the school in order to be
able to attend it. However, what constitutes
"reasonable" accommodations and whether
severely impaired students can be adequately
trained has been a subject of considerable
debate. The Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) has greatly enhanced educational
opportunities for disabled students; however,
the law's loophole of allowing tests to mea-
sure skills provides a legal basis for a medical
school to reject disabled applicants, claiming
that they are lacking critical faculties and
abilities that are fundamentally essential to prac-
tice medicine. Therefore, deficiencies in
sensory skills could prevent them from observing
patients or taking a history, deficiencies in
motor skills could prohibit performing diagnos-
tic procedures, and problems in communication
skills may inhibit contact with patients or
fellow physicians. Such limitations may serve
as a basis to disqualify a disabled individual
from gaining admission to any medical school.
Not everyone shares this view, and a small,
active group of disabled physicians is seeking
to educate the medical community about the
compensatory technology available for the
handicapped medical student or physician.
Disabled students who feel that they have been
rejected because of their disability can
sue on grounds of discrimination as this is a
violation of the ADA legislation. A blind Ohio
premed student did so and won (but only after
years of court battles). More recently, pro-
foundly deaf and quadriplegic premedical
students were admitted to medical school.
The current effort toward encouraging
production of more primary care physicians,
a physically demanding practice area, is not
favorable to potential disabled applicants.
Nevertheless, no generalization can be made
regarding the chances of disabled premeds
to gain admission. All individuals seeking a
medical career have to judge for themselves
their chances for gaining admission,
satisfactorily completing their studies and training,
and establishing a successful practice. Indeed,
while there are major obstacles in the
path of the disabled, they do not need to be
insurmountable in the face of solid ability
and intense determination.
Personal Characteristics
These include a wide variety of factors, such
as personality, maturity, appearance, and
ability to communicate, many of which become
evident at the interview. They can have
a decisive impact on your admission chances at
that time.
In summary, there are more than ten factors
that, to varying degrees, play a role in
the admission process. An honest assessment of
yourself in terms of each of these fac-
tors will give you an insight into your own
chances for admission.
Bottom Line
Serious consideration should be given to the
following suggestions to enhance your admis-
sion potential.
· Nonacademic qualities. Undoubtedly
your GPA and MCAT scores are the critical
and decisive factors in determining the outcome
of your application process. There
are, however, other qualitative issues that are
of special concern to admissions
committees. These include evidence that you
have sensitivity for the needs of oth-
ers, an appreciation of the complexity of
patient care, as well as a sense of respon-
sibility to face challenges in a mature manner
and resolve them properly. It is
your task to demonstrate that you have such
qualities during the course of your
interviews and in your personal
statement.
· Being a nonscience major. In this
situation, attractive science course grades and
MCAT scores are especially essential in order
to demonstrate your innate abilities
in the sciences. If your academic record does
not effectively demonstrate this,
advanced science courses (such as cellular
and/or molecular biology, genetics,
biochemistry, etc.), and doing well in them, is
essential to becoming a competitive
candidate for admission.
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