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Southwestern Oklahoma State University

College of Pharmacy

SWOSU > Academics > College of Pharmacy > Student Resources > Experiential Program > Student/Preceptor Manual > Appearance Policy

Pharmacy Appearance Policy

The following is the SWOSU appearance policy for pharmacy practice didactic and experiential course work.  These are the minimally acceptable standards for dress and grooming. If students are at a site with stricter policies, then the students will follow those policies.

Students violating the SWOSU appearance policy will be given a verbal warning and sent home and not allowed to return till the next meeting time.  The student may receive a zero for work that day.  Make up of work/time is at the discretion of the instructor and or preceptor. If a second violation occurs then the student can be dismissed from the class or experiential course. This can result in failure of the course.

  1. Personal Hygiene and General Appearance
    1. Hairstyles will be conservative and neat in appearance to convey a professional image.
    2. Extremes in hair color such as purple, green, orange, etc. are not permitted.
    3. Fingernails will be clean and of reasonable length.
    4. Students may not have facial jewelry or ornamentation including rings, to or through the nose, tongue, lip, eyebrow or any other exposed body part except the ear.
    5. Clear spacers may be used in place of tongue rings or studs. Ear gauges (expanders) may be left in place, but covered with neutral colored band-aids.
    6. No more than two earrings per ear.
    7. Excessive dangling or oversized jewelry i.e. earrings, necklaces, bracelets, will be avoided.
    8.  Tattoos will be covered by clothing and should not be visible.  Any visible tattoos (i.e. on hands, ankles etc) should be covered with a flesh colored bandage or makeup.
    9. Men should be clean shaven; if beards and moustaches are worn they will be well-groomed, trimmed, and close cut.  
  2. Clothing should be clean, fit properly, be in good repair and free from wrinkles.
    1. Lab coats will be clean and pressed, with name tag and SWOSU pharmacy patch on sleeve. No other patches or names of pharmacies/medical institutions are permitted. Coats should be worn at sites at all times.
    2. Dresses or skirts will be no more than 3 inches above the knee.
    3. Appropriate undergarments must be worn and not visible.
    4. Blue Jeans will not be worn, unless part of acceptable “casual day” attire.
    5. Neckties are encouraged for males. They will be neatly tied at the neck with the top button buttoned.
    6. No sleeveless tops, unless covered with a lab coat, jacket or sleeved top.
    7. No low cut necklines, must not show cleavage or hairy chests
    8. No skin showing above or below midriff.
  3. Shoes
    1. Shoes should be clean and in good repair with laces tied and buckles fastened.
    2. No flip-flops or any shoe with the primary strap between the toes.
    3. No platforms, moccasins, house slippers, or see-through/netted toe mules or any other examples of extremes in casual footwear.
  4. Shoes in Patient care areas
    1. No aerated shoes, i.e. Crocs or Croc-like shoes with holes on top.
    2. Open heeled shoes are allowed if they securely hold the foot in the shoe.
    3.  No open toed shoes in clinical/patient care areas areas.
    4. Socks or hosiery are required.

The Pharmacy Practice department reserves the right to impose additional restrictions on dress or appearance at the discretion of the faculty member and/or preceptor.  Practice sites may have more prescriptive policies than outlined above.  Students are required to follow site specific policies on dress and appearance.