Learning is not easy: How can we help our students to learn?

Students are an essential part of any college or school of pharmacy, and much deserved time and effort is dedicated to ensuring that their experience is worthwhile. Part of this is to provide a curriculum that is based on standards and competencies that will be needed to develop students into competent pharmacists capable of making reasoned clinical decisions and providing compassionate patient care. Although much time is spent by faculty in the development and implementation of the content of this curriculum that focuses on these skills and competencies, less thought may be given to the process of how students learn. This article provides a brief overview of the learning process, and lists several ways that faculty can facilitate learning for their students. It proposes that consideration of explicit teaching of the learning process and of critical thinking may be warranted.