Principles 

University of Findlay’s Doctor of Pharmacy program and subsequent eligibility for pharmacist licensure requires a certain level of cognitive, behavioral, and technical skills and abilities inherent to a professional education. It is to these principles and standards that Doctor of Pharmacy students are held accountable for admittance, progression, retention, and completion of the program to take place.  
 
All students are expected to successfully fulfill the same core educational requirements. The University of Findlay will make reasonable efforts to enable students with disabilities to complete the Doctor of Pharmacy program where possible and within our guidelines. Some accommodations cannot be made and/or accepted. One example of an unacceptable accommodation is a trained intermediary. Professionals in a clinical setting who rely on intermediaries are subject to interpretation or filtering of information by this intermediary.  
 
Students who graduate from the program will be eligible to take a general licensure exam, which presumes the capability to competently perform the required duties in any pharmacy practice setting; therefore, in our curriculum, students must be able to successfully complete the entire program without exception.  

Pharmacy students are expected to:  

• Be able to acquire their Ohio intern license by the end of their first professional semester  

• Maintain their Ohio intern license until graduation and pharmacy licensure examination  

• Complete the academic program within a reasonable amount of time  

• Maintain their physical and mental health and conduct themselves socially in a manner that will contribute to, and never detract from, a safe patient environment.  

The UF College of Pharmacy has the responsibility to protect the patients with whom our graduates will interact, directly or indirectly. In addition, the safety of the student in each of the potential practice environments in which they train must also be considered. It is with both the patients’ and students’ safety in mind that our technical standards have been specified.   

Technical Standards 

While many of the skills required by these standards are expected to develop and/or improve during training, the following criteria are considered essential for successful completion of this program. At the time of application to the UF College of Pharmacy, candidates must meet the following technical standards:  

Observation  

Students must personally be able to observe, evaluate, interpret, and apply information. This necessitates the functional use of visual, auditory, and tactile senses. Such senses are expected to be used in the classroom, the laboratory or in clinical practice training for the following: direct patient encounters (e.g. interviews and physical assessments), when evaluating drug information or orders for medications, or inspecting compounded or pre-manufactured medications.  

Communication Skills  

Student pharmacists must be able read and communicate effectively in written and spoken English. Additionally, students must demonstrate appropriate use and recognition of nonverbal communication cues. Finally, the ability to communicate clearly with faculty, staff, other members of the healthcare team, or with patients and their families must be conducted in a timely manner.  

Motor Skills 

Student pharmacists must have coordination and the functional use of both gross and fine muscular movement with reasonable accommodation in order to participate in pharmacy-related activities. This includes, but not limited to, the use of a computer, compounding medications, diagnostic equipment for basic patient assessment, and delivery and administration of drug therapies.  

Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities  

Student pharmacists must demonstrate a fundamental and progressive ability to use problem solving, critical reasoning, and technology appropriate for their level of training in the profession of pharmacy. Such skills are expected to be used personally and in collaboration with peers and other healthcare professionals. Students must demonstrate that they can use these skills, incorporating new information learned in practice with that which was obtained during didactic training. Information must be obtained, measured, analyzed, and integrated in an efficient and timely manner. They must then demonstrate the ability to apply such information to provide optimal patient care.  

Behavioral and Social Attributes   

Student pharmacists must demonstrate appropriate mental and emotional health to allow them to practice and function in a variety of situations, requiring good judgment and ethical decision-making. Student pharmacists must be able to demonstrate integrity, compassion, courtesy, and respect for patients, patient family members, and other healthcare professionals with whom they interact. Students must be able to accept constructive criticism with maturity and modify future actions and behavior accordingly.  

Ethics and Professionalism 

Students must successfully complete a criminal background check according to College of Pharmacy policies. The student pharmacist must demonstrate both the ability and the willingness to adopt the recognized professional and academic standards of the School and University.  
 
Submission of an application to the UF College of Pharmacy will serve as testimony that the prospective student pharmacist has performed a self-evaluation and does hereby consider him or herself to verifiably meet these technical standards. All students will be held accountable to these technical standards by the UF College of Pharmacy from application to the program through graduation.  
 
Individuals with questions or concerns about their ability to meet these standards are encouraged to contact the Assistant/Associate Dean for Internal Affairs.