School of Pharmacy Technical Standards for Admission and Matriculation

PCOM requires all applicants who are offered admission and all enrolled students to meet specific technical standards. These standards describe the functional abilities and professional capacities considered necessary to participate in the curriculum and to provide safe, effective patient care.

The technical standards are separate from academic requirements. They focus on essential abilities required for participation in classroom learning, laboratory instruction, clinical skills training, and supervised patient care. The standards are intended to ensure that students are able to meet the demands of medical education and clinical practice.

These standards may be met with or without reasonable accommodations. They are not intended to exclude individuals with disabilities who can fulfill program requirements with appropriate accommodations consistent with applicable law.

Important Notice

This information is presented for reference only. The technical standards form will be provided to admitted applicants. Official matriculation and continued enrollment in a degree program cannot be confirmed unless the technical standards form is completed and returned.

Disability Accommodations and Support

Students who have an ADA-recognized disability and who require accommodations related to one or more technical standards should contact PCOM Disability Services for guidance on the accommodation process. Requests for accommodations generally require documentation supporting both the disability and the specific accommodations being requested.

Each request is evaluated individually to determine whether the accommodation is reasonable and whether it allows the student to meet the essential requirements of the program without compromising patient safety, educational standards, or professional expectations.

Disability Services may be contacted at disabilityservices@pcom.edu.

Cultural and Religious Considerations

Requests related to cultural practices or religious beliefs are not addressed through the disability accommodation process, as they are not considered ADA-recognized disabilities. Students who believe that cultural traditions or religious requirements may affect their ability to meet one or more technical standards are encouraged to contact the Equal Opportunity and Access Team.

Such requests may be reviewed and discussed; however, approval is not guaranteed and depends on the essential requirements of the academic program.

The Equal Opportunity and Access Team may be contacted at titleixcoordinator@pcom.edu.

Technical Standards

PCOM Georgia School of Pharmacy is committed to the admission and matriculation of all qualified students. PCOM prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, race, sex, color, gender, gender identity and expression, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sexual orientation, religion, creed, disability, genetic information, marital status or any other legally protected class status in all its programs, activities, and employment practices. All PCOM Georgia School of Pharmacy applicants and continuing students, collectively referred to as “Candidates”, including those individuals with disabilities, must have the specific qualifications, referred to as “Technical Standards,” necessary to complete their course of study in a reasonably independent manner and to promote and protect the health and safety of the patients for whom the School's students and graduates will eventually care.

The holder of a PharmD degree must have the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to function in a variety of pharmacy practice settings. In order to ultimately perform the activities of a pharmacist, Candidates for the PharmD degree must be able to consistently, quickly and accurately assimilate a large body of medical information received in a variety of formats including written, oral and sensory in order to prepare pharmaceutical plans for their patients. These plans may involve ongoing assessment and counseling as well as the preparation of prescription and nonprescription medications or dietary supplements. These activities involve not only intellectual ability, but also observational, communication, motor, and behavioral skills.

Communication Skills

A candidate must be able to read, write, speak and comprehend the English language with sufficient mastery to accomplish the following:

• Complete the didactic, clinical and laboratory curricular requirements in a timely, competent, professional and accurate manner.
• Effective and efficient communication; in oral, written and computerized forms; with all members of the health care team.
• Effective, compassionate and sensitive communication with patients. The focus of patient communication is to elicit information, examine, describe changes in mood, activity and posture, and perceive nonverbal communication.
• Communication includes not only speech but also reading, writing and computer literacy.

Observation and Sensory Skills

Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and somatic sensation and is enhanced by the functional use of all of the other senses. Candidates and students must have sufficient visual acuity to be able to:

• Observe presentations, demonstrations, experiments, and laboratory exercises in the pharmaceutical and clinical sciences.
• Observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand.
• Interpret drug information in the form of printed and handwritten prescriptions, drug labels, package inserts, texts and electronic media.

Motor Skills

A Candidate should have sufficient fine and gross motor skills, equilibrium, strength, mobility, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision to accurately execute movements required in the practice of pharmacy. This would include, but is not limited to:

• Preparation of prescriptions through compounding, reconstitution, counting, pouring and weighing of liquids, tablets and powders.
• Preparation of sterile solutions for ophthalmic or intravenous use Administer an IM/SQ injection.
• Provision of general care and emergency treatment (e.g. first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
• Elicit patient information through palpation, auscultation, percussion and other diagnostic maneuvers.

Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Skill

Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of pharmacists, requires that the candidate must be able to:

• Measure, calculate, reason, analyze, record, and synthesize large amounts of complex information in a timely manner.
• Comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand spatial relationships.
• Remain fully alert and attentive at all times in clinical settings.

Behavioral/Social Attributes

• Candidates must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, and the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the interaction with patients.
• Candidates must possess the ability to develop mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients.
• Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress.
• Candidates must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients.
• Candidates must possess compassion, integrity, concern for others, effective interpersonal skills, willingness and ability to function as an effective team player with an interest and motivation to learn.

Professional Expectations

Students are expected to adhere to a standard of behavior and conduct consistent with the high standards of the healing and scientific profession. All students are expected to:

1. Respect the right of their fellow students to pursue their studies in a professional environment conducive to study.
2. Maintain professional interpersonal relationships by demonstrating civility and respect for each other.
3. Uphold the highest standard of academic honesty and integrity.
4. Show respect for the diversity, which exists among students, faculty and patients in regard to disability, social background, age, gender, religious beliefs, race, sexual orientation, and particular disease process.
5. Fulfill their responsibilities to their peers and patients in group work, including clinical clerkships and outside training assignments.
6. Adhere to all of the policies of the College, including those prohibiting discrimination or harassment.

Students also understand that they are required to meet all of the standards and expectations for classroom testing and assessment. The College realizes that emergencies may occur after matriculation, and will address these concerns as the need arises.