Drug and Alcohol Policy
Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy seeks to provide a professional environment that is safe and drug-free for our students, residents, faculty, and staff. As members of the health care community, we have a responsibility to provide high quality care. The understanding of and compliance with the following Drug/Alcohol Policy is important for every member of the School of Pharmacy to ensure that individuals who may require assistance for the inappropriate or dangerous use of substances which may obstruct the ability to provide high quality health care are identified and able to receive appropriate and professional assistance. The School of Pharmacy Drug/Alcohol Policy as stated within this document does not apply to the responsible consumption of alcohol by persons of legal age at college-sponsored activities/events where alcohol is served.
The School of Pharmacy explicitly prohibits:
- The use, possession, solicitation, or sale of narcotics or other illegal drugs, alcohol, or prescription medication without a prescription on college premises and/or while performing or representing the School of Pharmacy in an official capacity.
- Being impaired[1] or under the influence of legal or illegal drugs or alcohol while on college premises and/or while representing the School of Pharmacy in an official capacity, particularly if such impairment or influence of drugs or alcohol affects work performance, the safety of others, or puts at risk the School’s reputation.
- Possession, use, solicitation for, or sale of legal or illegal drugs or alcohol away from the College premises, if such activity or involvement adversely affects the academic or work performance, the safety of the College members or others, or puts at risk the School’s reputation.
- The presence of any detectable amount of prohibited substances in a student’s system while at work, while on College premises, or while performing or representing the School of Pharmacy in an official capacity. “Prohibited substances” include illegal drugs, alcohol, or prescription drugs not taken in accordance with a prescription’s written and official instructions.
The School has the authority to conduct drug testing for the following circumstances:
- REQUIRED TESTING: The School of Pharmacy must certify to experiential sites that our students are negative for certain drugs and alcohol prior to being placed in those rotations; therefore drug screening will be conducted before matriculation and annually thereafter. The initial and subsequent drug screenings must be completed by July 1 each year. Failure to comply with required drug screenings will delay progression or render a student unable to complete the professional degree program. The results of drug screenings will be shared with experiential sites upon request and refusal by a selected site to admit a student may delay graduation. Certain experiential sites may also require random drug tests of students while they are assigned to a particular location. School of Pharmacy students must comply with the request for the completion of the drug test prior to placement or during placement at an experiential site. In the event that an experiential site’s requirements for a drug/alcohol test are different than the School of Pharmacy’s policies, the more stringent requirements are to be followed. If a student is tested for drugs or alcohol outside of the school context and the results indicate a violation of this policy, the student may be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. In such a case, the student will be given an opportunity to explain the circumstances prior to any final action becoming effective.
- FOR-CAUSE TESTING: The School may ask a student of the School to submit to a drug test at any time there is reasonable cause to suspect that the School of Pharmacy student appears to be impaired for unknown reasons, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, including, but not limited to, the following circumstances: evidence of drugs or alcohol on or about the member’s person or in the general vicinity, unusual conduct on the member’s part that suggests impairment or influence of drugs or alcohol, negative performance patterns, eyewitness testimony of use or possession, or excessive and unexplained absenteeism or tardiness.
- POST-ACCIDENT TESTING: Any student involved in an on-the-premise accident or injury under circumstances that suggest possible use or influence of drugs or alcohol in the accident or injury event may be asked to submit to a drug and/or alcohol test. “Involved in an on-the-job accident or injury” means not only the one who was injured, but also any person who potentially contributed to the accident or injury event in any way.
Ultimate decisions about the matriculation of an accepted applicant whose drug test reveals information of concern will be made by the Admissions Committee of the School of Pharmacy. Ultimate decisions about the progression of an enrolled student whose drug test reveals information of concern will be made by the Assistant Dean for Experiential Education based on eligibility of the student to complete the Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience requirements of the PharmD curriculum.
All costs associated with drug testing are the responsibility of the duly enrolled student. The notification, type of test, company, location, and required date and time to complete the drug test will be provided to the student.
Chemical and Alcohol Dependency
The School of Pharmacy recognizes that alcoholism and drug dependency affects all of society and requires treatment. It desires to assist chemically impaired students, as well as those whose lives have been adversely affected by chemically dependent individuals. The School of Pharmacy endorses the South Carolina Recovering Professional Program (SCRPP):
RPP is committed to assisting the health professional to return to safe practice — a decision that benefits the individual, the profession and society at large — by ensuring that the professional complies with an established treatment protocol and appropriate continuing care. RPP emphasizes confidentiality, education and opportunity, while treating the professional with compassion, dignity and respect throughout the process of recovery.
RPP, which operates under a contract between LRADAC, The Behavioral Health Center of the Midlands, and the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, is the approved monitoring program for licensees of the South Carolina Boards of Medical Examiners, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry and Podiatry Examiners[2].
The purpose of a recovery program is to protect society from the harm that impaired students may cause, allow recovering students who are not legally restricted or currently chemically impaired the opportunity to continue their education, and provide assistance to chemically impaired students in a manner that protects the rights of the impaired individual. For more information on this please visit the Office of Professional and Student Affairs or call SCRPP at 1-877-349-2094.
[1] Impairment is the inability to perform job skills or to function safely due to the effects of chemical, alcohol or psychiatric disease or impairment is defined as the inability to consistently think rationally, perform activities, or communicate effectively without error while performing daily activities or job related activities.
[2] As stated on the SC Recovering Professional Program website, http://www.scrpp.org/.
