More College of Podiatric Medicine Policies

• Academic and Summary Dismissals
• American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination (APMLE)
• Attendance
• Board Prep Exam
• Clerkship Rotations
• Clinical Rotations
• Course Exemptions
• Dress Code Violations in Clinic
• Eligibility for Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Degree
• Essential Requirements for Student Education
• Examination Policy
• Laboratory Participation During Pregnancy
• Leave of Absence Procedure
• Mediasite
• Professional Behavior
• Professionalism Deficiency Evaluation
• Promotion
• Readmission
• Remediation for Failing Grades
• Student Malpractice Insurance Coverage
• Test Review Procedure
• Transfer and Advanced Standing Admissions
• Withdrawal

Immunizations, Background Checks and Drug Screening Download to print

Kent State’s College of Podiatric Medicine requires that all accepted and continuing students admitted toward the conferring of the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree have current immunizations, background checks and drug screens as a condition of affiliation with the college.

All students are required be in compliance with these policies within 30 days of matriculation, and again at the beginning of CLI 803xx clinical rotations. Students who fail to pass the required background check or drug screen may be unable to complete degree requirements or may be dismissed from the program. Students should be aware that some CLI 804xx clinical rotations may require students to submit additional background checks, drug screens and/or fingerprinting to be compliant with that hospital’s credentialing requirements.

These policies are enacted due to recent rationale for national clinical compliances:

Safety and Well-Being of Patients

Healthcare providers are entrusted with the health, safety and welfare of patients. They have access to controlled substances and confidential information, and operate in settings that require the exercise of good judgment and ethical behavior. Thus, an assessment of a student’s personal history through a thorough background check, as well as any possible impairments related to drug use that diminishes his/her capacity to function in such a setting, is imperative to promote the highest level of integrity in health care services.

Accreditation Standards

Healthcare facilities are increasingly interpreting standards by accreditation agencies—e.g., Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)—and are requiring their employees to provide documentation of current immunizations and submit to background checks and drug screens as needed to create a secure environment for the care of patients. These standards are especially important for those individuals who supervise care and render treatment including controlled substances. To facilitate the requirement of healthcare facilities that students be fully immunized against infectious diseases, submit to a background check, and pass a drug screen, educational institutions, such as College of Podiatric Medicine, have agreed to maintain immunization records and conduct background checks and drug screens on all students who will participate in clinical rotations at healthcare facilities having such a requirement.

Allocation of Costs

Relevant students are responsible to pay for the cost of the required immunizations, background checks and drug screens. Background checks and drug screens must be performed by the designated approved vendor of the college. Background checks and drug screens submitted from any company or entity other than the approved vendor will not be accepted nor honored.

Confidentiality

Immunizations, background checks, and drug screen reports and all records pertaining to the results are considered confidential with highly restricted access. The results and records are to be retained by the designated primary user, in contractual agreement with the preferred vendors.

Licensure Issues

Clinical rotations and early experiential rotations are an essential element in the health science curricula. Students who cannot participate in clinical rotations due to revealed violations of law or illegal use of controlled or illegal substances may be unable to fulfill the requirements of the program for advancement or graduation. Additionally, many healthcare licensing agencies will require individuals to pass both a background check and a drug screen as a condition of licensure or employment in your professional future. Therefore, it is in everyone’s interest to resolve these issues, prior to a commitment of resources by either the college or the student.

Contractual Obligations

The College of Podiatric Medicine is obligated to meet contractual requirements contained in affiliation agreements between the college and various healthcare facilities. Most of the healthcare facilities that provide clinical learning experiences share the mutual requirement of fully immunized, background-checked and drug-screened students.

Liability Issues

Given the current medical liability environment, the College of Podiatric Medicine and its healthcare facilities are appropriately attentive to factors that may adversely affect the security of the clinical environment and, thus, increase their liability exposure. As a result, schools and healthcare facilities, both independently and, at times, through legislative mandate, have appropriately sought to enhance their scrutiny of professional and non-professional students involved in patient care activities through criminal background checks and drug screens.

Required Immunizations

Students must provide proof of the following immunizations:

• Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) – positive Rubella titer
• Polio
• Varicella Zoster (vaccination or illness) – positive Varicella Zoster titer
• Hepatitis B – positive Hepatitis B titer
• Tetanus (Tdap)
• Tuberculosis – tested annually

Drug Screening Panels

The testing is for the following drugs:

• Amphetamines (Amphetamine, Methamphetamine)
• Barbiturates (Amobarbital, Butalbital, Pentobarbital, Phenobarbital, Secobarbital)
• Benzodiazepines (Alprazolam Metabolite, Clonazepam Metabolite, Flurazepam Metabolite, Flunitrazepam Metabolite, Lorazepam, Midazolam Metabolite, Nordiazepam, Oxazepam, Temazepam, Triazolam Metabolite)
• Cocaine Metabolites
• Marijuana Metabolites
• Methadone
• Methaqualone
• MDA-Analogues (MDA, MDMA, MDEA)
• Opiates (Codeine, Morphine, Hydromorphone, Hydrocodone)
• Oxycodones (Oxymorphone, Oxycodone)
• Phencyclidine
• Propoxyphene
• TestSure™
• Other narcotics (Tramadol and/or Metab)

Scope of Background Checks

Background checks may either partially or totally include the following and cover records for the past seven years.

• Criminal history search, including convictions, deferred adjudications or judgments, expunged criminal records and pending criminal charges involving felonies, Class A, Class B and Class C violations.
• Social Security Number verification
• Violent Sexual Offender and Predatory Registry search
• Office of the Inspector General List of Excluded Individuals/Entities
• General Services Administration List of Parties Excluded from Federal Programs
• U.S. Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, List of Specially Designated Nationals
• Applicable State Exclusion List

Background Check

The provider will electronically submit background check reports to the Office of Graduate Placement and Clerkships. Students will also receive a copy of their background check reports via e-mail for their own records.

Discrepancies in background check reports are subject to review by the administration and could result in student’s dismissal from the academic program. Students who refuse to submit to a background check or do not pass the background check review are subject to dismissal from the College of Podiatric Medicine.

Rights: Students and applicants have the right to review the information reported by the designated company for accuracy and completeness, and to request that the designated company verify that the background information provided is correct. Prior to making a final determination that will adversely affect the applicant or student, the college will provide applicants or students a copy of or access to the background check report issued by the designated company and inform them of their rights, how to contact the designated company to challenge the accuracy of the report and that the designated company was not involved in any decisions made by the college.

• The background check report will be submitted to the admissions committee for its review. If the report contains negative findings, the admission committee may request that the applicant submit additional information relating to the negative finding, such as written explanation, court documents and police reports. The admissions committee will review all information available to it and determine whether the offer of admission should be officially withdrawn.
• Background check reports of applicants shall be secured and maintained with the college’s Office of Enrollment Management upon subsequent admission.
• Admissions decisions are final and may not be appealed.

Drug Policy

Drug test results will be electronically submitted to the Office of Graduate Placement and Clerkships by the provider.

Drug test results are subject to review by the certified medical review officer who is contracted by the Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine. Positive drug screens will be cause for review by the administration on a case by case basis and could result in a student’s dismissal from the academic program.