Health Science Majors
College of Dentistry
College of Medicine
College Nursing and Allied Sciences
College of Pharmacy
Undergraduate Nursing
Student Health Clearance Information & Requirements
As a health professional student, part of your training will include direct contact with patients. Indeed, this is an exciting time in your clinical training. It's your duty to protect yourself and others from communicable diseases. One of the University’s responsibilities is to provide an environment that minimizes your risk of contracting diseases that are preventable through vaccination. There are other engineering controls that are put in place to protect you and others, e.g. respirator fit testing and universal precautions.
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Health science students that require a health clearance certificate should make an appointment for file review. Annual requirements include a physical within 2 years, an annual TB screening and an influenza vaccine and various other laboratory analysis depending on the type of clinical rotation.
It is the responsibility of the students to ensure health clearances are done well in advance of the time they are needed. Do not wait until the last minute, because health clearances will typically require a tuberculosis test, other routine blood testing, and in some cases, urine drug testing. Please come in for these tests a week or two before your physical exam. Failure to present these requirements to the health center in advance may delay your ability to receive your health clearance as well as your clinical rotation.
For your protection, a health clearance is required for every health science student. Health clearances are reviewed annually, beginning with the year you start clinical rotation. No student will be cleared for clinical rotations until all requirements are met.
When the health clearance requirements are met, you will receive a Health Clearance Certificate, which is required before you begin a clinical rotation. The certificate must be renewed on an annual basis.
Office of Health Education (Wellness Center)/Medical Arts Building
2139 Georgia Avenue, NW
Please send any inquiries regarding health clearance to SHCClearances@howard.edu.