Technical Standards

Technical standards essential for admission, progression and graduation

Introduction 

The doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program at the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS) employs a variety of teaching and learning strategies designed for students to learn the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for practice readiness as a pharmacist. The faculty and staff of the SOPPS have established technical standards. These technical standards describe the requisite non-academic and academic qualifications and performance standards that are essential to admission, progression and graduation from the PharmD program. Each degree candidate must meet these minimum standards with or without reasonable accommodation to achieve successful completion of the PharmD degree. Candidates will need to meet these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, in order to be admitted, progress through and graduate from the PharmD program.

Reasonable Accommodations 

The Binghamton University SOPPS is committed to the equitable inclusion of diverse qualified students with and without disabilities and fully supports the use of reasonable accommodations. We provide private and specialized disability support and are committed to excellence in accessibility of reasonable accommodations. We encourage students with disabilities to connect with our Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office at 607-777-2686 or email ssd@binghamton.edu if they would like to discuss reasonable equal access accommodations. 

After review of the technical standards, students who determine that they may require accommodation(s) to fully engage in completing requirements within the PharmD program should contact the Binghamton University Office of SSD to privately discuss their accommodation needs. Students should be aware that accommodations are not applied retroactively and some accommodations may take time to determine and implement, so timely connection with the SSD office is encouraged. 

The technical standards, achievable with or without reasonable accommodations, are divided into the following categories: 

• Observation
  Students must be able to observe demonstrations in the basic and pharmaceutical sciences (e.g., medical illustrations and models, microscopic studies of microorganism, and tissues in normal and pathologic states). With respect to patient care, students must be able to observe verbal and non-verbal signals. Observational abilities include discerning sounds related to patient assessment and treatment, as well as evaluating physical patient signs and symptoms of disease.
• Communication  

  Effective communication involves utilizing knowledge acquired during the education process to elicit, convey, clarify, and communicate information in English in one or more modalities (e.g., verbal, written, electronic) in a way that is quick, effective, efficient, and sensitive. Students should be able to communicate effectively with educational faculty and staff, fellow students,
  patients, and all members of the healthcare team both in person and in writing. Students should be able to adjust communication approaches to match the needs of the recipient and appropriately recognize and respond to nonverbal and emotional communication cues. Communication must be proficient across multiple domains including individual and group settings with healthcare professionals and trainees, in person, by telephone, or within a virtual platform.

• English Proficiency

  For purposes of admission, advancement and graduation from the SOPPS, the minimum level of proficiency in English required is a TOEFL score of 100 on the Internet-based test (iBT) with no band below 20, or an IELTS score of 6.5, with no band below 5.0.

• Behavioral and Social Attributes

  Students should exercise good judgment, and demonstrate the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the role of a pharmacist. They must be able to relate to patients and their families, colleagues, and other members of the healthcare team with courtesy, maturity, and respect for the dignity of individuals. This requires that they place the welfare of their patients foremost, and demonstrate honesty, integrity, empathy, dedication, compassion, and nondiscrimination in the care of their patients. Students must be able to work effectively as a member of a healthcare team and be able to contribute to collaborative learning environments, accept constructive feedback from others, and take personal responsibility for making appropriate positive behavioral changes when necessary. Students should be able to tolerate physically and mentally challenging workloads and to function effectively under stress. They should be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical environment. Students will communicate and care for persons whose cultural, sexual orientation, or spiritual beliefs are different from their own in a non-judgmental way. Compassion, honesty, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, and professionalism are all personal qualities that are expected during the education process. This requires ongoing self-examination of personal attitudes, perceptions, and stereotypes in order to avoid potential negative impacts on relationships and patient care. Students should also have the ability to display actions and behaviors that foster delivery of quality healthcare, and do not display actions or behaviors that may cause emotional, mental, and/or physical harm to patients, colleagues, faculty, external partners, and/or themselves. 

• Motor 
  Students must possess the capacity to elicit information from patients using basic patient physical assessment skills (e.g., palpation, auscultation, percussion). Motor skill requirements include the utilization of current computer-based technology and information systems for drug information retrieval and evaluation, as well as the preparation and presentation of oral and written reports. Students must possess the motor function sufficient to work with needles or other sharp objects (e.g., glucose monitoring or vaccine administration) and to accurately compound and prepare sterile and nonsterile prescription products for dispensing to patients. Students must be able to execute motor movements in a timely fashion necessary for routine care and emergency situations including, but not limited to, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid. Such actions require some coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, balance, and equilibrium, or the functional equivalent. 
• Intellectual, Interpretive, Conceptual and Quantitative Abilities

  Students must have effective and efficient learning techniques and habits that allow mastery of the pharmacy curriculum. They should possess the cognitive ability to obtain, retrieve, receive, process, retain, organize, evaluate, interpret, and integrate large volumes of written and verbal information and use this information to prioritize and complete tasks in a timely manner appropriate for each stage of the pharmacy education. Students must be able to learn through a variety of modalities including, but not limited to, in-person and virtual instruction, small group activities, individual study, preparation and presentation of reports, and use of computer technology. They must be able to memorize, measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and synthesize information. They must also be able to comprehend spatial relationships and three- dimensional models, which are embedded in laboratory and clinical settings. Students must be able to exhibit fundamental problem-solving, analytical reasoning, and critical thinking skills that are regularly demanded of pharmacists. Students must be able to appropriately respond to constructive feedback regarding opportunities to improve knowledge, skills and attitude, and develop and carry out a plan for improvement. 

• Ethics and Professionalism

  Students are expected to exhibit a professional demeanor. Students should maintain and display ethical behaviors commensurate with the role of a pharmacist in all interactions with patients, faculty, staff, students, and the public. All students are expected to function within the oath, law, and ethical standards of the profession of pharmacy.