Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Technical Standards for Admission

The Allied Health Department faculty has specified the following non-academic criteria which applicants generally are expected to meet in order to participate in the Department of Allied Health Sciences programs and professional practice. These technical standards are necessary and essential and have been developed to provide for the health and safety of the patients receiving care from the Allied Health Department program students.

Sensory Abilities

• Ability to actively engage in all demonstrations, lab exercises, and clinical experiences.
• Recognize, interpret, and respond to facial expressions, body language, and monitor patient’s physical and mental status during the scan.
• Hear soft or muffled voices under personal protective equipment (PPE) and monitor Doppler signals for diagnosing abnormal blood flow.
• Work in a semi-darkened room for up to 8-12 hours.
• Scan using real-time sonography to differentiate normal anatomy from abnormal pathology.
• Vision sufficient to distinguish shades of gray, color, and observe real-time diagnostic images.
• Detect changes in patient condition and respond accordingly.
• Monitor vital signs and physical responses while conducting examinations.

Communication Skills

• Communicate effectively in English through verbal, non-verbal, and written means with faculty, peers, patients, families, and the healthcare team.
• Gather relevant patient information, respond to questions, and interpret physician orders.
• Provide clear instructions to patients and relay sonographic findings accurately.
• Speech must be clear and understandable by faculty, clinical staff, and patients.

Motor Skills & Coordination

• Stamina and strength to push, pull, bend, and stoop routinely.
• Sufficient strength to lift and carry up to 40 lbs., including positioning patients and moving heavy ultrasound equipment.
• Ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time, including walking, standing, or remaining upright for 8-12 hours.
• Demonstrate manual dexterity and fine motor movements to manipulate the ultrasound transducer and control panel.
• Maintain prolonged arm positions needed for scanning while ensuring patient safety and comfort.

Intellectual & Decision-Making Abilities

• Ability to gather, interpret, and integrate information for informed decision-making.
• Collect and assess patient data to determine its significance for the requested sonographic scan.
• Apply professional judgment to modify protocols as needed based on patient condition.
• Successfully complete all academic and clinical components of the program, which requires learning technical, medical, and pathophysiological information.
• Analyze, synthesize, and apply sonographic data in real-time.

Behavioral & Social Attributes

• Maintain emotional stability and sound judgment in high-pressure environments.
• Foster professional and empathetic relationships with patients and healthcare team members.
• Adapt to evolving clinical settings and handle stress effectively.
• Demonstrate integrity, compassion, and professional behaviors at all times.
• Receive and apply constructive feedback to improve sonographic skills.
• Adhere to ethical standards outlined in the Sonographer Scope of Practice and Clinical Practice Standards by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS). https://www.sdms.org/about/who-we-are/code-of-ethics

Accommodation Policy

• You must be able to perform each of these tasks with or without reasonable accommodations.
• If you require an accommodation due to a disability, it is your responsibility to provide appropriate documentation and formally request the accommodation through the Center for Student S.
• Jackson College is committed to ensuring equal access to its programs and services for qualified students with disabilities and will make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
• Students needing accommodations should contact the Center for Student Success as early as possible to begin the interactive process of documenting eligibility and appropriate accommodations.
• DMS students with disabilities are expected to meet all essential functions of the program with or without reasonable accommodations.
• While the DMS program strives to assist students requiring accommodations, the Program Director, faculty, and affiliated clinical facilities may review accommodation request to ensure they do not fundamentally alter course objectives, essential competencies or clinical requirements.

Admission is not Guaranteed.

Technical Standards and Functions that are Required to Successfully Complete a Degree / Certificate Program in Diagnostic Medical Sonography.

American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) provides reasonable testing accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Having a diagnosed impairment does not necessarily mean that an individual is disabled as defined by the ADA, and not all disabilities require test accommodations.

Test accommodations are adjustments or modifications of standard testing conditions designed to allow candidates with disabilities to take the examination without compromising its validity, providing an unfair advantage to disabled candidates or imposing undue burdens on ARDMS.

If you are an Applicant seeking accommodation, you must submit, along with your completed application:

1. An original letter, dated within the past five years and typed on official letterhead, from a qualified physician or health provider who specializes in the disability. This letter must document the disability and its severity, describe the applicant’s limitation due to the disability, and state exactly what accommodations are recommended. The letter must contain an original signature and the physician’s or health professional’s credentials;
2. An original, current, detailed, comprehensive medical evaluation/ report of the diagnosed disability from the physician or health professional, dated within the past five years; and
3. A completed ARDMS Special Accommodations Questionnaire which must be submitted each time you apply for examination.

Review of applications containing a request to receive ADA accommodations may require an additional 30 days to be completed.

Documentation submitted by an applicant in support of a request is reviewed by ARDMS and may be forwarded to an independent medical expert for impartial professional review.

ARDMS may request additional documentation to support the request. All information will be kept confidential and will be used only to determine what, if any, test accommodations will be made.

Approved accommodations will be included in the Examination Confirmation Letter,  sent to you via email and also available through MY ARDMS account, under “My Examinations/Application Status” found under the “Application Center” tab. The email will include the test vendor’s telephone number and you should call the test vendor to schedule an examination appointment with the approved accommodations.

Note: All supporting documentation must be received before processing. Incomplete or illegible applications or questionnaires may be refunded, minus the non-refundable examination processing fee per examination.