Technical Standards

The curriculum of the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy program has been designed to provide a general professional education leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy degree and to prepare students to become competent practice-ready pharmacists capable of providing patient-centered care across diverse practice settings. Technical standards are essential to ensure all accepted candidates and current students are prepared to take on the rigor of the academic program and that all graduates are well-suited to enter the pharmacy profession. 

Technical Standards for Admission, Retention, and Graduation

All candidates for admission to, and all current students enrolled in, the College of Pharmacy’s professional degree program should possess sufficient skills in observation; communication; and sensory and motor coordination and function; as well as intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; and behavioral and social attributes to acquire scientific knowledge; develop interpersonal and technical competencies; display professional attitudes; and master the clinical abilities necessary to meet all requirements for pharmacist licensure and enter pharmacy practice or pursue postgraduate training. Individuals whose performance is impaired by use of alcohol or other substances are not suitable candidates for admission, retention, or graduation. Professionalism also requires that students appropriately manage mental and physical health related issues to ensure they are fit for duty in their role as a student pharmacist. Students who are unable to meet the standards will be referred to the Scholastic Standing and Petitions Committee and/or Student Policy and Professionalism Committee for review, as applicable.

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education requires Doctor of Pharmacy programs to produce and make available to prospective and enrolled students the technical standards for admission to, retention in, and graduation from the professional degree program. The University of South Carolina and the College of Pharmacy acknowledge that certain minimum technical standards must be present in candidates for admission to, retention in, and graduation from the Doctor of Pharmacy professional degree program. Although these standards serve to delineate the necessary abilities of all candidates, they are not intended to deter any qualified candidate for whom reasonable accommodation will allow fulfillment of the complete curriculum. A “qualified person with a disability” is an individual with a disability who meets the academic and technical standards requisite for admission to, retention in, and graduation from the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program, with or without reasonable accommodations.

The University of South Carolina and the College of Pharmacy fully endorse the spirit and intent of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992, and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Candidates for admission who have a disability and use accommodations are encouraged to begin confidential discussions with the University of South Carolina Student Disability Resource Center either prior to or as soon as the offer of admission is received and accepted. Given the clinical nature of the program, additional time may be needed to implement accommodations. Accommodations are never retroactive; therefore, timely requests are essential and encouraged.

All candidates and current students with disabilities bear the responsibility of providing the Student Disability Resource Center with current information documenting the general nature and extent of their disability, and proposed accommodations. Evaluating and facilitating accommodation requests is a collaborative effort among the candidate or enrolled student, the College of Pharmacy, and the university’s Student Disability Resource Center. The College of Pharmacy reserves the right to request new or additional information through the Student Disability Resource Center should a candidate/student have or develop a condition that would place patients, the candidate/student, or others at risk or that may affect his/her need for accommodation. 

Technical Standards

The College of Pharmacy has established the following technical standards that describe the essential functions students must demonstrate in order to fulfill the requirements of a general pharmacy education, and thus, are prerequisites for entrance to, retention in, and graduation from the Doctor of Pharmacy program:

(a)  Observation

Candidates/students must be able to observe, conduct, and evaluate demonstrations and experiments in classrooms, laboratories, and patient care areas. Candidates/students must be able to accurately observe patients; collect information from various health records and/or digital health devices; and integrate these observations with the findings they obtain through the elicitation of a patient history and performance of physical assessments in order to develop appropriate recommendations. Observation of the technical quality of pre-manufactured, as well as compounded medications, is required. The aforementioned skills require the use of vision, hearing, and touch or the functional equivalent.

(b)  Communication

Candidates/students must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in the English language, in person and in writing, with various parties including, but not limited to, faculty, preceptors, staff, fellow students, patients, patients’ families and/or caregivers, and all members of the health care team. Candidates/students must be able to elicit information and perceive verbal, as well as non-verbal, communications. They must have sufficient capacity to obtain a patient history, educate all audiences, and establish therapeutic relationships with patients. Candidates/students must be able to accurately and clearly record information in writing and electronically in a time efficient manner. 

(c)  Motor Coordination and Function

Candidates must possess sufficient motor function to safely perform essential pharmacy tasks, including medication preparation and compounding, immunization administration, basic physical assessment techniques, operation of pharmacy and diagnostic equipment, documentation, and other patient care activities. Candidates/students must maintain sterility requirements when applicable.

Candidates/students must possess the capacity to complete physical assessment maneuvers and use diagnostic equipment. Candidates/students should be able to respond to emergency situations in a timely manner and provide general and emergency treatment to patients. Candidates/students must adhere to universal precaution measures and meet safety standards applicable to inpatient and outpatient settings and other clinical activities. The aforementioned actions require some coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, balance, and equilibrium. Candidates/students must be mobile and able to function independently within the educational and pharmacy practice environment.

(d)  Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities

Candidates/students must be able to exercise sound clinical judgment and make evidence-based therapeutic decisions. Candidates/students should be able to make measurements, calculate, and reason; to analyze, integrate, and synthesize data; and to problem-solve. Candidates/students should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures (e.g. physiologic and chemical). Candidates/students should be able to integrate rapidly, consistently, and accurately all data received by whatever sense(s) employed. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to self-assess their performance, identify learning needs, and engage in continuous improvement throughout the curriculum. Candidates/students must be able to remain fully alert and attentive at all times in classroom, laboratory, and pharmacy practice environments.

(e)  Behavioral and Social Attributes

Candidates/students must be able to establish appropriate ethical relationships with a wide range of faculty members, preceptors, staff, fellow students, professional colleagues, patients, and patients’ families and/or caregivers. Candidates/students should possess the personal qualities of integrity, empathy, concern for the welfare of others, life-long learning, and motivation. Candidates/students must also uphold ethical standards in their academic and professional conduct to be able to function within the regulatory and institutional limits of the educational and pharmacy practice environment and modify behaviors based on criticism. Candidates/students must take responsibility for personal action and emotional stability under the stressful conditions that may come from their professional education. Candidates/students should possess the emotional and psychological health required for the full use of their intellectual abilities; the exercise of good judgment; the prompt completion of all responsibilities associated with the care of patients; and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, patients’ families and/or caregivers, and professional colleagues. Candidates/students must be able to adapt to changing environments, to be flexible, and to function in the face of ambiguities inherent in the clinical situation. 

Consideration for Admission and Continued Enrollment

The College of Pharmacy will consider for admission any qualified candidate who has the ability to perform or learn to perform the skills and abilities specified in these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodation. An accommodation is not reasonable if it poses a direct threat to the health or safety of self and or others, if it requires a substantial modification in an element of the curriculum that is considered essential, if it lowers academic standards, or if it poses an undue administrative or financial burden. The use of a trained intermediary would result in mediation of a candidate’s judgment by another person’s powers of selection and observation. Therefore, the use of trained intermediaries to assist students in meeting the technical standards for admission, retention, or graduation would constitute an unacceptable substantial modification.

Candidates for admission to the College of Pharmacy Doctor of Pharmacy program are required to acknowledge the reading, understanding and meeting of all technical standards upon acceptance of an offer of admission to the professional degree program. Candidates for the Doctor of Pharmacy degree will be asked, at regular intervals, to attest to their ongoing ability to meet the technical standards of the professional degree program, with or without accommodation, and to graduate as skilled and effective pharmacy practitioners.