Graduate and professional education can be a time of great stress. It may become difficult for a student to successfully adapt to these stresses, which may lead to the student engaging in potentially harmful coping mechanisms, such as alcohol or drug abuse. The Drug and Alcohol Policies represent the intent of the College to enable students to resolve substance abuse problems by requesting and receiving compassionate, confidential professional assistance.

In an effort to help our students and to protect patients and others from the harm that an impaired student may cause, PCOM’s goals include:

1. Providing effective and compassionate assistance to the impaired student before irreversible harm is done to his/her health, educational process, eligibility for licensure, or ability to function competently upon graduation.
2. Providing a means by which the impaired student may request and receive confidential professional assistance without stigma or penalty, and thereby encourage self-reporting and personal responsibility.
3. Enabling the impaired student to confront his/her problem and, where feasible, receive effective therapy with minimal disruption of the student’s education.
4. Establishing a process that focuses on counseling and therapy as a front-line approach before disciplinary action is necessary.

 Additional resouces can be found on the Mental Health and Wellness section of MyPCOM.