Requirements for clinical and field education
PCC healthcare programs require educational experiences that take place in clinical and field environments. To be eligible for these experiences, students must adhere to individual clinical facility requirements, as well as the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 409-030-0100-0250 and (OAR) 333-019-1010, which outline requirements for healthcare staff in healthcare settings. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) requires all students in a clinical setting to complete all required vaccinations and successfully pass a criminal background check and drug screen through the school-selected vendor, CastleBranch. Updated August 2025.
Immunization requirements
- Hepatitis B vaccine (HepB): This vaccine is administered in three doses. The first and second doses are one month apart. The third dose is administered 4-6 months after the second dose. Students who lack documentation of the HepB vaccinations are considered unvaccinated and should receive additional doses as identified by their healthcare provider. Or, a titer can be done to determine immunity.
- Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): This vaccine requires two injections. This vaccine is usually received as a child. If it was not received at that time, it will be required to get two injections at least three months apart, or a titer can be done to prove immunity.
- Tetanus toxoid-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap): A one-time dose of Tdap is If the Tdap vaccination was administered over ten years ago, a Td (Tetanus) booster is required.
- Tuberculin (TB) skin test (PPD) or Quantiferon Gold test or chest X-ray: The requirement is a two-step TB/PPD test. This entails one of the following options:
- getting two separate tuberculin skin tests, one to three weeks apart,
- getting a Quantiferon blood test done, or
- obtaining a chest x-ray. A chest x-ray is good for ten
- Varicella zoster (chicken pox): This vaccine requires two injections at least one month apart, or a titer can be done to show immunity.
- Annual flu shot: Clinical sites may require students to have an annual flu At the beginning of each flu season, when the vaccine becomes available, a flu shot may be required.
- COVID-19 vaccination: Clinical sites may require students to submit proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, including all boosters.
Additional requirements
- CPR certification: The CPR certification must come from an American Heart Association certified instructor (card will say American Heart Association or AHA). The class that is specific to healthcare providers or Basic Life Support (BLS) providers is required. The training must include CPR for adults, children, and infants, as well as AED. The certification must be valid from the student’s first term in the program through graduation.
- Criminal background check: The OHA requires all health profession students to complete a state and nationwide background check prior to being placed at their clinical. It is the student’s responsibility to check with any applicable state and national licensing boards to ensure their criminal background history will not impact their ability to be placed in a clinical/field setting and get licensed upon completion of the PCC program. See Licensure Disclosures for more information. Students should review the certification exam requirements for their program of study prior to program application. If, for some reason, a student’s criminal history prevents them from being placed into one of the clinical partner sites, program admission may be rescinded or denied.
- Drug screen: CastleBranch provides industry-standardized drug screening service through Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp laboratories to perform a 10-panel test.
Additional vaccination requirements
Vaccinations, background checks, drug screenings, and other requirements for learners at clinical sites are determined by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). In addition to these standards, clinical sites may also have additional policies and requirements for student learners.
PCC will make reasonable efforts to place unvaccinated and partially vaccinated students in clinical/field sites that allow unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals with reasonable safety measures.
These efforts include:
- Contacting current clinical partners to ascertain whether the partner has updated their policy to allow unvaccinated or partially vaccinated students, and if so, whether a rotation spot is available.
- Consideration of alternative experiences that can substitute for clinical experience and still meet the individual program’s accreditation requirements.
Students will be advised of their options if a site or alternative is unavailable.
PCC does not have full control over the clinical site matching process and typically cannot request a particular hospital, clinic, or site, nor any specific days, dates, or times for the program in general or for specific students. Additionally, PCC does not have control over the reasonable safety measures or requirements that clinical sites may adopt for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals, and cannot guarantee that any clinical site will permit unvaccinated or partially vaccinated student rotations, even if the student has a medical or religious exception. With this in mind, students may have limited locations, days, or times with clinical rotation options.
Please note that PCC, as well as its clinic partners, must take reasonable safety measures and extra steps to ensure that unvaccinated or partially vaccinated healthcare providers and healthcare staff, patients, and, of course, its student learners are all protected from contracting and spreading disease. Students are expected to comply with all safety requirements established by both PCC and by its partnering clinical sites, and failure to do so could result in removal from the clinical site, disruption in progress towards completion, and/or disciplinary consequences.
PCC will continue to work with you throughout your tenure as a student on considering reasonable accommodations.