West Coast University

Admissions
The School of Pharmacy Admissions Committee evaluates applicants based on a variety of criteria including:
overall academic performance and academic achievement in pre-pharmacy math and science coursework. The Admissions Committee also encourages a well-balanced academic background that includes the humanities and social sciences;
evidence of strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills;
engagement in extracurricular activities;
evidence and knowledge of the pharmacy profession or previous work in any health care setting is preferred but not required.
Additional information regarding the School’s admission pre-requisites can be found at: http://westcoastuniversity.edu/
Curricular Overview and Highlights
The West Coast University School of Pharmacy curriculum is designed as a professional, four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program that encompasses didactic, laboratory, and experiential learning. Our rigorous curriculum will prepare students to become competent, caring, and contemporary pharmacy practitioners by engaging students with highly qualified faculty who are accessible and available to meet with students who require additional personal assistance. Our interactive-learning environment emphasizes expanded clinical experiences, including interprofessional experiences with other health science programs, the extensive use of technology, and outreach activities with other students.
An Integrated Patient Care course series (IPC), distributed throughout the curriculum, will be used to provide the foundations of drug action and its application towards the therapeutic decision-making process. The IPC course series, team-taught by a pharmacologist, medicinal chemist, and practicing pharmacist, demonstrates how scientific principles directly apply to patient care. The curriculum also includes a capstone course, with an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)-based component that will utilize the School’s state-of-the art audio-visual capture rooms to provide students with high-stakes, low-risk environments they can develop their skills in.
The Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) are a series of clerkships interspersed throughout the first three years of the Pharm.D. curriculum that lead to Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs). These experiences are designed to progressively introduce student pharmacists to patient-centered care activities in a practice setting. There are a total of three IPPEs in the curriculum. Students will accumulate 120 hours of practice experience in each of the three IPPEs. This will bring the total IPPE hours to 360, distributed throughout the first three years of the curriculum.
APPEs begin at the conclusion of the Spring semester of PY3. Students must satisfactorily complete all didactic course requirements as well as IPPEs prior to the start of APPE. During PY4, each student must complete four required rotations in specified areas of community practice, institutional practice, ambulatory care, and acute care medicine as well as two elective rotations. Each APPE is a six-week-long intensive, hands-on experience designed to prepare the student to apply didactic knowledge and skills from IPPEs to advanced practice experiences under the tutelage of knowledgeable practitioners.
Location
The School of Pharmacy is located in beautiful Southern California. The School resides 2.6 miles from downtown Los Angeles, placing students near the center of one of the country’s most vibrant and diverse cities. Additional information on the program can be found at: http://westcoastuniversity.edu/