Chemical Dependency

The College of Pharmacy supports the efforts of chemically dependent students to become free of their dependency problems. In dealing with chemically dependent students, the College's procedure involves intervention and requiring students to join treatment and rehabilitation programs. The procedure ensures the safety of patients with whom students may come in contact and protects the interests of patients, students, the College, and faculty.

The following steps are taken as soon as a student has been identified as having chemical dependency problems:

1. The student is granted a medical leave of absence by the Academic Standing Committee if he or she is participating in educational activities that involve direct patient contact (e.g., clinical clerkships or externships). The request for a leave may be initiated by the student or the associate dean. Students participating in educational activities that do not involve direct patient contact are not required to take a medical leave of absence.
   
   
2. The associate dean advises the student to enroll in a chemical dependency treatment program or a different mode of treatment contingent on the associate dean's approval. The student must provide evidence of successful completion of the treatment.
   
   
3. The associate dean advises the student to join a sobriety support group, e.g., Pharmacists Aiding Pharmacists, after completion of the treatment program.
   
   
4. The student is asked to give the associate dean permission to solicit letters of reference from counselors, employers, or members of the sobriety support group to monitor the progress of the student's rehabilitation program.
   
   
5. The student is asked to agree to give urine samples at any time, without prior notification, for detection of drugs of abuse.
   
   
6. The associate dean makes recommendations to the Academic Standing Committee to terminate the student's medical leave of absence and allow the student to participate in educational activities that do not involve direct patient contact after obtaining evidence that the student has completed the treatment program and is participating in the rehabilitation program.
   
   
7. The associate dean makes recommendations to the Academic Standing Committee to permit the student to participate in educational activities involving direct patient contact after obtaining evidence that the student has been chemically free for at least ten weeks.
   
   
8. If the student is a licensed pharmacist and her or his license was suspended because of chemical dependency, the State Board of Pharmacy lifting the suspension may be used as evidence of sobriety and is a prerequisite for participation in educational activities involving direct patient contact. The license suspension being lifted does not obligate the college to allow the student to participate in educational activities that involve direct patient contact.
   
   
9. Office of Student Services staff are not required to report to the Academic Standing Committee on students who initiate information about a personal chemical dependency problem while being counseled. The staff may report such information to the associate dean.
   
   
10. The Academic Standing Committee may dismiss from the college students who have a recurrence of chemical dependency problems after completing the treatment and rehabilitation program described above.
    
    
11. If the student and the associate dean do not reach an agreement on a treatment and rehabilitation program, either may request a hearing by the Academic Standing Committee. The committee carefully considers all relevant factors, using procedural due process as a guide to its action. The student may appeal the Academic Standing Committee's decisions to the President's Student Behavior Review Panel within 10 days of the decision.