SNAH Technical Standards

All students entering the School of Nursing and Allied Health must meet all the eligibility requirements for admission. Because of the nature of our healthcare provider educational programs, in addition to the academic requirements, several additional “technical standards” have been set in place to assure that students receive the highest quality educational experience while simultaneously assuring the safety of patients, peers, and the public.

It is expected that students will adhere to these technical standards throughout the program. These standards are consistent with the expectations stated in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with questions can contact a member of Student Affairs or the Director of Admissions for further details and clarifications.

Additional requirements for students in healthcare provider educational programs in the School of Nursing and Allied Health

  1. An up-to-date record of immunizations. All students must provide documentation of immunization as the requirements of the university and/or its clinical affiliates. Because students will be practicing in healthcare settings, immunization is of critical importance to prevent the spread of communicable diseases to compromised clients/patients and their providers. For a list of required immunizations, please refer to the SNAH Student Manual.
  2. A successful criminal background check. All students must authorize a criminal background check as the requirements of the university and/or its clinical affiliates. All students may be subject to additional background checks as the requirements of the school, or its clinical providers dictate. The results of the background check(s) may be shared with the school’s practice-experience providers. A student’s eligibility to enroll in, or disqualification from, the program will be made on an individual basis. No single type of offense will be used as an automatic rescission of acceptance or reason for dismissal. The school may rescind an offer of admission, or dismiss a student, if a background check reveals that the applicant has committed a serious offense. Serious offenses include, but are not limited to, felonies, drug offenses, forgery, assault, abuse, and neglect.
  3. Drug screening. All students must authorize drug screening as the requirements of the university and/or its clinical affiliates. A student’s eligibility to enroll in, or disqualification from, the program will be made on an individual basis. The school may rescind an offer of admission, or dismiss a student, if a drug screen reveals that the applicant has inappropriate substance use/abuse.
  4. Health care insurance. All students are required to carry and maintain a health care insurance policy during their enrollment in the program.

Additionally, due to the interactive, serious, and technical nature of nursing and allied health care, there are several additional criteria that an applicant/student must meet to complete the classroom, laboratory, and practical aspects of the program, described here:

Sensory and Observational Competencies

Students must be able to observe demonstrations and conduct exercises in a variety of areas related to contemporary healthcare practice, including, but not limited to:

  • Observation of patients accurately at a distance and close at hand, noting nonverbal as well as verbal signals;
  • Vision-related observation including, but not limited to,
    • Visualizing and discriminating findings on monitoring laboratory and diagnostic tests;
    • Reading written and illustrated material;
    • Discriminating numbers and patterns associated with diagnostic and monitoring instruments and tests;
    • Observing the activities of colleagues;
    • Reading information on a computer screen and small print on packages or package inserts;
    • Distinguishing shapes, colors, markings, and other characteristics of small objects; and
    • Competently using assessment/diagnostic instruments for monitoring patients (e.g., stethoscope); and
  • Utilization of other sensory modalities for physical assessment and other forms of practice.

Mobility Competencies

Students must have motor capacities supporting, but not limited to:

  • Demonstration of fine and gross motor skills and coordination for the purposes of assessing and treating, interacting with and caring for patients and operating equipment essential to their practice. The student must be able to conduct a physical assessment of a patient by palpation, auscultation and other diagnostic maneuvers, intervene in clinical emergencies, and provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
  • Functioning and maneuvering within a practice setting, which includes demonstrating dexterity, stamina, stability, and mobility while standing, sitting, and walking (either alone or assisting patients in need of support);
  • Moving or positioning a patient in a manner that facilitates physical assessment or diagnosis;
  • Utilizing computer-based information systems with adequate motor function to perform data entry and analysis; and
  • Responding promptly to urgencies within the practice setting requiring rapid and accurate preparation of appropriate emergency medication and preparation of intravenous medications.

Cognition Competencies

Students must have cognitive capacities supporting, but not limited to

  • Assessing, measuring, calculating and analyzing relevant data and facts for the purposes of problem solving and decision making;
  • Concentrating for extended periods of time, often in the presence of distractions and high levels of volume;
  • Demonstrating the ability to multitask in a stimulating and stressful environment;
  • Showing the ability to solve problems involving scientific principle and observation with proficiency and accuracy;
  • Calculating for a variety of patient-specific conditions;
  • Retaining and recalling critical information in an appropriate manner; and
  • Interpreting graphs or charts describing biologic, economic or outcome relationships.

Behavioral Competencies

Students must have behavioral capacities including:

  • Possessing the emotional health and stability to fully utilize their intellectual abilities, exercise good decision-making; make sound judgment skills at all times, and develop effective relationships with patients and inter-professional colleagues;
  • Demonstrating the ability to work focused and poised in emergency situations coping and adapting to changing environments and displaying flexibility and function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the academic and clinical environments;
  • Maintaining a level of professionalism and respect for faculty, colleagues and patients; and
  • Recognizing differences in culture, values and ethics among patients, faculty, peers, clinical and administrative staff and colleagues.

Access to Transportation

As part of the Nursing and Allied Health Programs, students regularly travel off campus to clinical affiliate sites throughout New Jersey, New York and the region for supervised clinical practice experiences. Students may also need to travel to our clinical laboratory sites which are located in Teaneck, NJ and in Madison, NJ. For this reason, it is essential that students have regular, on-demand access to transportation to complete the clinical practice experiences, which are integral components of the curriculum of our clinical programs.

Adherence to Technical Standards

Enrolled students are expected to maintain and demonstrate all technical standards through their program.

The ability to maintain the School of Nursing and Allied Health technical standards is a separate component from academic progression; only maintaining a passing grade point average is not sufficient for progression/graduation.

Enrolled students who are unable to meet one or more of the technical standards are subject to action (such as remediation, deceleration, or dismissal).

A student with a medically diagnosed disability may function in the program if the condition is under sufficient control to allow meeting the above standards with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation means services provided to individuals with documented disabilities that remove or lessen the effect of disability- related barriers. Individuals with documented disabilities who think they may be unable to satisfy one or more of the foregoing standards due to their disability should contact the Office of Disability Support Services to discuss if reasonable accommodations to meet the Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Nursing and Allied Health technical standards can be made. Reasonable accommodations are only available to individuals with medically diagnosed documented disabilities. The Office of Disability Support Services will work in conjunction with the School of Nursing and Allied Health in evaluating and responding to all requests.

Due to the student’s need to engage with third-party partners in the provision of experiential education portion of the curriculum, it may not be possible for certain accommodations to be met and provided in all settings. This could result, under specific circumstances, in a student’s inability to progress through this course work or successfully complete the curricular requirements leading to a degree.