Background Check Resources for Student Affairs Personnel
AACP organized an ad hoc Criminal Background Check Advisory Panel in 2006 to identify common problems and possible strategies to assist members with this rapidly evolving issue. The panel recommended that all U.S. pharmacy schools procure a national background check on applicants upon their initial, conditional acceptance to pharmacy school. The rationale is based on a number of issues, including:
- A growing number of national healthcare organizations, institutions and state legislatures require student pharmacists to complete a criminal background check (CBC) at least once during their educational career.
- Background checks are commonly required for hospital staff, as well as individuals who work or volunteer with children or other vulnerable populations, which include student pharmacists.
- Student pharmacists may be subject to criminal background checks earlier in their educational career and more often than medical school students due to introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs).
In support of this recommendation, AACP initiated a PharmCAS-facilitated national background check service, through Certiphi Screening, Inc. to procure a national background report on applicants at the point of acceptance. AACP has initiated this new service in order to recognize the desire of pharmacy schools to procure appropriate national criminal history reports and to prevent applicants from paying additional fees at each pharmacy school to which they are accepted.
Pharmacy schools not participating in the PharmCAS background check service may also require applicants to undergo a separate background check process.
Visit the PharmCAS website for list of participating colleges and schools.