University of Texas - College of Pharmacy - Experiential Program - Criminal Background Check & Drug Screen Policy

Experiential Programs

Criminal Background Check & Drug Screen Policy

Facilities operating under the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards pertaining to human resource management require verification of competency of all individuals who have direct contact with patients or employees. This includes students participating in clinical rotations in the facility. Competency extends beyond technical skills to an individual’s criminal history.

Criminal Background Check

Professional pharmacy students will be subject to a criminal background check prior to the start of the P1 year (first year of the professional sequence of courses), and also during the spring semester of the P3 year (third year of the professional sequence of pharmacy courses, prior to the full-time experiential P4 year of practicum). Students will be referred to a third party vendor to request the background check, and are responsible for any associated expenses and paperwork. The student must complete the background check prior to the deadline set by the College, or the student will not be able to matriculate. The vendor performing the background check will notify the College of Pharmacy that the student has participated in the check. The facility will verify details of the background check directly through the background check vendor or the student.

Background checks will be honored by all facilities for the duration of the pharmacy student’s enrollment in the professional program if the participating student has not had an unexpected break in enrollment. A break in enrollment is defined as non-attendance of one long-term semester (fall or spring) or more. The above information is verifiable through the College.

The criminal background check will review a person’s criminal history seven (7) years prior to the date of application. The check will include the cities and counties of all known residences. The following criteria will be included:

Social Security number validation
Felony convictions
Misdemeanor convictions or felony adjudications involving crimes against persons (physical or sexual abuse)
Misdemeanor convictions related to moral turpitude (prostitution, public lewdness/exposure, etc.)
Felony deferred adjudications for the sale, possession, distribution, or transfer of narcotics or controlled substances, and involving crimes against persons (physical or sexual abuse)
Registered sex offenders
HHS/OIG List of Excluded Individuals/Entities
GSA List of Parties Excluded from Federal Programs
Employee Misconduct Registry
U.S. Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), List of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) search. Applicable State Exclusion list, if one.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the Texas State Board of Pharmacy approves the student as licensable via the student pharmacist intern registration process (which infers that, upon completion of all requirements for licensure, the student is approved to take the licensing exam), the student may participate in clinical experiences within the facility. Please refer to §283.4 of the Texas Pharmacy Board Rules, Texas Administrative Code for additional information via the website:

Internship Requirements

and

Texas Government Code, Subtitle B., Chapter 411.122 (background checks for pharmacists)

Drug Screens

The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy will require students to submit to a 10 panel drug screen at the same times that the criminal background check is conducted. As with the criminal background check:

the screen will be run by a third party vendor
students will be responsible for all costs associated with the screen
the College of Pharmacy will be notified by the vendor that the student has participated in the screen
the facility is responsible for obtaining the results from the third party vendor.

In summary:

Students will be required to participate in a criminal history (background) check and a 10-panel drug screen prior to the start of the P1 and P4 years.

Students will contact a participating third party vendor and have the criminal history check and drug screen performed, at their expense, through that vendor.

The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy will certify that each student has participated in the background check and drug screen.

If practice facilities require detailed information on the results of either of these processes for an individual student, the facility will contact the student or third party vendor directly and request the results. The College of Pharmacy cannot release results due to the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

If the student is approved and registered as a student intern by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (which infers eligibility to sit for licensure exams), the student will be allowed to participate in clinical experiences within the facility.

Last Reviewed: August 3, 2011