The College of Pharmacy requires that all pharmacy students be certified in an approved CPR training program by September 30th of their first professional year in the College of Pharmacy. CPR training can take place at any location that offers the American Heart Association BLS for Healthcare Providers two-year certification required by the College and requires classroom time for hands-on training and demonstration of skills. Students are required to maintain an updated certification. All CPR certifications and updates are at the expense of the student.
PharmD Program Immunization & CPR Renewal
CPR Certification
Immunization Requirements
As a prerequisite for Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE and APPE) in the College of Pharmacy, students are expected to have appropriate immunizations for the protection of the students and the patients they may see.
First-year pharmacy students MUST complete all required vaccinations by January 9th of their first professional year. Requirements not met at that time may require repeated vaccinations and may result in cancellation in registered courses for which immunizations are required (e.g. PPS 928). All pharmacy students must complete an annual TB screening. Failure to complete the TB screening may result in the cancellation of registration and scheduling of IPPE or APPE. UK HealthCare has also made the influenza vaccine a requirement for everyone working, doing clinical rotations, or volunteering.
Compliance Forms
Class of 2026 University Health Service (UHS) Immunization Compliance Forms are due to the Academic & Student Affairs Office by the first day of spring semester classes (January 9, 2023). All students must remain current on their annual TB skin test. An updated UHS Immunization Compliance Form must be turned in before your TB yearly expiration date and remain on file in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.
- All students must obtain the "Letter Details" document from the UK Healthcare MyChart before participating in the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE).
- The Letter Details documents completion of TB screening, MMR's, Varicella; Tdap and completion of the Hepatitis B series.
- PY1 students are advised not to complete a TB skin test prior to August 1, 2022 due to expiration during IPPE 2023.
- You will need to bring complete written physician documentation of immunizations to the University Health Service. You may fax your records to UHS prior to your clinic visit to expedite the process but you will need to bring paper copies to your appointment as well. Send your fax to Attn: Joni Pruitt, UHS, 859-257-9809. Please include your name and year in the program (i.e., College of Pharmacy, 1st year). Students may also email immunization and TB screening documents to UHSmedicalrecords@uky.edu.
- Appointments are necessary for Compliance Form completion (except during walk-in weeks) and may be made by calling 859-323-2778.
- Once all requirements are fulfilled, the required Letter Details document will be uploaded to MyChart. Access this compliance record by signing in to MyChart, Menu, Letters, then Letter Details. This letter can be printed or saved as a PDF (print to Adobe PDF). Updated forms must be submitted to the College Office of Student Affairs through the COPSA 2026 Canvas assignment.
Incoming Students
Vaccine-preventable diseases continue to occur on American college campuses. In order to ensure the safest possible environment for University of Kentucky students, the University has pre-matriculation immunization recommendations. These are based upon recommendations and guidelines issued by the American College Health Association (ACHA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), last updated November 2011. (MMWR/Nov 25, 2011/Vol. 6/No. 7)
The University of Kentucky recommends that all incoming students be immunized before enrollment (either through vaccination or naturally acquired immunity) against the following illnesses:*
- Measles
- Mumps
- Rubella
- Polio
- Varicella
- Tetanus – Tdap if tetanus is more than two years ago
- Diphtheria
- Pertussis
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Meningococcal Meningitis – required for students living in on-campus housing
- HPV (females and males up to age 26)
- Pneumococcal (for students with history of asthma, smoking, diabetes, liver disease, or immune suppression)
- Annual Influenza
UHS has an Immunization Compliance Worksheet which serves as a type of vaccine "checklist" designed to explain the TB/vaccine compliance process, including titer options. This allows students to have a better understanding of what is required and to be more involved and invested in this part of their education. Students should complete the form and bring it with them to their first visit to UHS. The Immunization Compliance Worksheet is accessible on UHS website at http://www.ukhealthcare.uky.edu/uhs/
*Please note that the College of Pharmacy students are required to have these immunizations as a prerequisite for experiential education rotations. If you have questions regarding the immunization recommendations, you may call 859-323-INFO (4636).
Students with Clinical Responsibilities
University Health Service (UHS) welcomes the University of Kentucky Health Science College students to the clinic. These compliance requirements have been established to help protect health care providers, as well as their patients during clinical encounters. These requirements reflect CDC guidelines and UK HealthCare policies. If you have a medical contraindication to one or more of the vaccine requirements, please provide UHS with documentation from your primary care provider. Deadlines for completion of compliance are set by the individual colleges. The following immunizations are required for all students involved in clinical activities:
Tuberculosis Screening:
- New Health Science College students are required to complete an initial 2-step TB Skin Test* or equivalent (IGRA).** If you have had a TB test within the last year, please bring a copy with you to your appointment.
- Upperclassmen must complete a TB skin test or IGRA test on an annual basis. Documentation of a negative Mantoux TB skin test is accepted from other institutions and must include (1) date given, (2) date read, (3) reading in millimeters, (4) name of facility and credentials of the person administering and reading test.
- If a known history of positive TB test of IGRA test, documentation must include the date of reading in millimeters and chest x-ray. If these records are unavailable, UHS requires a 2-step TB skin test or equivalent IGRA. Students with a positive PPD will participate in annual TB screening by answering a TB questionnaire.
- Annual TB screening while the student remains enrolled.
Hepatitis B:
- Proof of a series of three injections at recommended intervals.
MMR:
- Proof of immunity to rubella, rubeola and mumps if born in 1957 or later. One of the following may be used as documentation:
- Documentation of two MMR vaccines with the first at 12 months or older.
- Documentation by a physician of having had rubeola, rubella and mumps disease.
- Documentation of positive rubeola, rubella and mumps titers.
Varicella:
- Proof of immunity to varicella by one of the following:
- Positive antibody titer
- Immunization with varicella vaccine. (Full immunization with the varicella vaccine requires a series of two injections.)
Tdap (Tetanus, Diptheria, Acellular Pertussis)
- Documentation of one dose of Tdap vaccine as an adult.
- Note: Td (tetanus/diphtheria) vaccine is NOT the same as a Tdap.
Appointments are necessary and may be made by calling 859-323-2778 or online at My UK.
Bring paper copies of all your immunization records to the University Health Service for verification at your scheduled appointment. A nurse will complete your compliance form and give you a copy to bring to your Student Affairs Office. UHS Clinic is located on the second floor of the University Health Service Building at 830 S. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536.
*2-step TB test: Two TB skin test within one year
**IGRA: Blood test for TB
We wish to remember and honor those who inhabited this Commonwealth before the arrival of the Europeans. Briefly occupying these lands were the Osage, Wyndott tribe, and Miami peoples. The Adena and Hopewell peoples, who are recognized by the naming of the time period in which they resided here, were here more permanently. Some of their mounds remain in the Lexington area, including at UK’s Adena Park.
In more recent years, the Cherokee occupied southeast Kentucky, the Yuchi southwest Kentucky, the Chickasaw extreme western Kentucky and the Shawnee central Kentucky including what is now the city of Lexington. The Shawnee left when colonization pushed through the Appalachian Mountains. Lower Shawnee Town ceremonial grounds are still visible in Greenup County.
We honor the first inhabitants who were here, respect their culture, and acknowledge the presence of their descendants who are here today in all walks of life including fellow pharmacists and healthcare professionals.