Pasadena City College and Kaiser Permanente Anesthesia Technology Program 

Technical Standards

Purpose: To facilitate the development of a qualified Certified Anesthesia Technology workforce through clearly identified and transparent benchmark expectations of both applying candidates and students of the Kaiser Permanente Anesthesia Technology Program.

Aim: To develop a specific written policy to guide the admission process, create a system for advocacy and support of students with disabilities, and provide accommodations to facilitate these students’ matriculation.

A. Observation[1]/Sensory-Motor
Candidates and students must be able to observe demonstrations and learn from experiences in the basic sciences, including but not limited to, basic physiology and pharmacology, rudimentary microbiology, and laboratory situations.

Candidates and students must be able to observe and learn from experiences in the clinical laboratory and operating/surgical suite such as in the following examples:

• Read gradients/calibrations on a syringe
• Identify medications from labels and packaging
• Recognize color changes on chemical reaction strips
• Auscultate physiologic sounds including, but not limited to heart, lung, and abdominal sounds
• Assess normal and abnormal color changes in the skin
• Observe pupil changes
• Observe monitors for digital or waveform readings
• Read from digital material, computer screens and paper-based texts or print outs
• Candidates and students must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand.

B. Communication[2]/Speech, Reading and Writing

• Candidates and students must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written forms with patients, caregivers, physicians, other health professionals, clinical staff, faculty, peers and the community-at-large in order to elicit information and describe changes in the environment or with a patient’s hemodynamics.
• Candidates and students must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients in the English language.

C. Psychomotor[3]/Physical Ability and Coordination
Candidates and students should have sufficient motor function to:

• Elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, and other clinical maneuvers
• Collect specimens and perform basic tests, such as a glucose finger stick and point of care testing
• Assist in replenishing supplies, perform an anesthesia machine checkout, and disinfect the anesthesia workspace
• Commute or arrange transport to clinical sites, class or laboratory experiences including but not limited to the Southern California region

Candidates and students should be able to execute motor movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of Certified Anesthesia Technologist include:

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Assisting anesthesia care providers during intubations
• Assist anesthesia care providers during invasive line placements
• Assisting in moving and lifting patients using proper body mechanics

D. Intellectual[4]/Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities

• Candidates and Students must be able to comprehend and interpret documents written in English.
• Candidates and students should possess cognitive abilities to ensure measurements, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis of information and data.
• Candidates and students must exhibit critical thinking. This is the ability to synthesize knowledge from clinical and didactic material and integrate the relevant aspects of a patient's history, physical exam findings, and diagnostic studies into a proper course of care.

E. Behavioral and Social Attributes

• Candidates and students must possess the emotional health required to utilize their intellectual abilities fully. They are expected to exercise good judgment, complete all tasks/responsibilities attendant to the care of patients promptly, and develop sensitive and effective relationships with patients and their families.
• Candidates and students must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical care of patients.
• Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal communication skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that will be assessed during the admissions and education process.
• As a component of anesthesia technology education, a student must demonstrate ethical behavior including adherence to the professional anesthesia technologist and student honor codes.[5]  

Reasonable Accommodation
Candidates and students who disclose a disability are considered for admission if they are otherwise qualified, so long as such accommodation does not significantly alter the essential requirements of the curriculum and the educational program or significantly affect the safety of patient care or others.

When candidates or students disclose a disability, the provision of reasonable accommodations will be considered to assist these individuals in meeting these required technical standards.

Candidates and students whose response indicates that they cannot meet one or more of the technical standards will be reviewed further by the College's Office for Academic Accommodations, with input, to determine if any reasonable accommodations are possible to facilitate successful completion of the Anesthesia Technology curriculum, clinical training requirements and preparation for the National Certification Examination.

[1] Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and other sensory modalities. 
[2] Communications include not only speech but also reading, writing and computer usage, including digital literacy.  
[3] Coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.
[4] Measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and interpret data.
[5] The honor code at the Kaiser Permanente Anesthesia Technology Program (KPAT) mirrors Pasadena City College’s peer-oriented integrity system to promote an environment where academic honesty is valued and expected.