California Northstate College of Pharmacy

Dean's Message

Our curriculum emphasizes the progressive development of critical inquiry, clinical reasoning, professional communications, and the knowledge and skills needed to design, monitor, and evaluate patient-specific pharmacotherapy regimens.

California Northstate College of Pharmacy is the first health professions school in  the U.S. to exclusively use Team-Based Learning (TBL) for its entire curriculum.  TBL promotes judgment, mastery of content, communication, teamwork skills, problem-solving, and critical thinking.   TBL shifts teaching and learning from a predominantly lectured-based, passive learning experience to an instructor-facilitated, active learning strategy.

At the beginning of each course, teams comprised of 6 to 7 students are formed based on criteria that help achieve heterogeneity across all teams.  Students remain with the same team throughout the semester for all courses.  Students are held accountable for their individual and group work.  Peer evaluations are performed once or twice a semester and count toward the final grade.

The TBL format for each course is comprised of three phases. In Phase 1, learners study independently outside of class to master fundamental course concepts. In Phase 2, learners first take an individual readiness assurance test (IRAT), and then take the same test in their respective teams (TRAT). The IRATs and TRATs are followed by instructor feedback on key concepts that require further elaboration or clarification.  In Phase 3, teams complete an in-class assignment that focuses on the same problem, which must be significant and relevant to the practice of pharmacy. The TRATs and in-class assignments generate enormous energy, lively discussion, collaborative learning, and team building skills. 

We would be delighted to have you contact us for more information about our College of Pharmacy. California Northstate offers a unique and intellectually challenging opportunity for students interested in pursuing and advancing the practice of pharmacy.

Sincerely,

David Hawkins, PharmD