California Northstate University College of Medicine

California Northstate University College of Medicine is a private medical school located in Elk Grove, California, granting the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD). It is one of the seven colleges of California Northstate University. The other colleges are College of Pharmacy (PharmD, MS), College of Dental Medicine (DMD), College of Health Sciences (BA, BS), College of Psychology (PsyD, MA), College of Graduate Studies (PhD, MS, MHA), and College of Nursing (coming Fall 2024).

The College of Medicine is committed to meeting the nation’s need for physicians with an emphasis on training in primary care with social accountability which aligns with CNU’s broader mission, purpose and strategic intent, “to advance the science and art of healthcare.”

History
California Northstate University (CNU) successfully launched the College of Pharmacy in 2008. Senior operations staff at the College of Pharmacy began discussions for a new medical school in the greater Sacramento area in the spring of 2010 as a result of several publications and studies which indicated the need for an increase number of primary care physicians trained in California. It was also recognized that as a result of the financial crisis facing California, the state had been unable to increase the number of medical students trained by the state. One of the strategic goals in creating the College of Medicine was to directly help the primary care physician shortage in California. The educational philosophy of CNU as a whole is to create life-long learners that are trained to serve the community as leaders in health care science, education, and research. With this in mind, senior officials at CNU developed a strategic plan that addressed education, partnership, and scholarship.

Much of the preliminary design of the structure of the College of Medicine and its curriculum was in place by July 2011. As part of this process, community leaders in medicine within the Sacramento Valley were engaged in a series of meetings to plan the outlines and address the key issues to be covered in the medical school curriculum. This core group established broad outlines of the curriculum and structure of California Northstate University College of Medicine.

Dr. Joseph Silva, MD, served as the founding Dean of Medicine from 2015 to 2021. Dr. Catherine Yang became the interim Dean in 2021 to mid-2023. Then, in June 2023, after an extensive, nationwide search, Dr. Richard Isaacs, MD, FACS was appointed as Dean and Senior Vice-President of Medical and Academic Affairs.

Students
The College of Medicine enrolled its first class of 60 students in August 2015, which subsequently graduated in May 2019. The next four classes (graduating 2020 to 2023) saw its enrollment grow to an average of 94 students. With the continued development and success of the College of Medicine, the currently enrolled classes (graduating 2024 to 2027) has increased to an average size of 112 students.

Admissions is highly competitive, with acceptance rates ranging from 1.7% to 3.2% since the College’s inception. For the currently enrolled classes, the average acceptance rate was 2.3%, the average MCAT score was 512.5, and the average GPA was 3.73.

The College of Medicine announced a 97% match rate in the 2023 National Resident Matching Program with students matching in several very competitive specialties including but not limited to Diagnostic Radiology, Orthopedic Surgery, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, and Plastic Surgery while fulfilling its mission of educating medical students who wish to practice internal medicine, OB/GYN, family medicine, and pediatrics.

Students matched with institutions across the country, including many well-known and very highly regarded residency programs such as: Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Cedars Sinai, University of North Carolina, Medical Centers at UCLA, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, University of Southern California, University of Texas Southwestern, George Washington University, University of Massachusetts, Geisinger Health System, California Pacific Medical Center, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, and others.

In the 2024 National Resident Matching Program, the College of Medicine also did exceptionally well, with a 95% match rate spanning 18 specialties across 68 institutions. Consistent with the College's mission, 47.9% will be training in primary care, which includes 35% in Internal Medicine, 5.8% in Family Medicine, and 3.9% in Pediatrics. The 59.4% of students matching to California residency programs reflects CNU's ongoing commitment to increase the number of physicians in the state. Highlighting the exceptional placements, 10.4% of the 2024 cohort secured positions in highly competitive specialties such as Neurological Surgery, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and both Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology within many prestigious institutions and residency programs, including Baylor, Cornell, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, and several California programs like Loma Linda, USC, and the University of California campuses (UCLA, UCSF, UCSD, UCI, and UCD).

Hospitals
California Northstate University does not currently own or operate its own hospital, though planning is underway to build one (see below for additional details). The College of Medicine clinical clerkships are located at multiple sites, primarily in Northern California, with some rotations in Central California and Southern California. Affiliations with major health systems include Kaiser Permanente, Dignity Health, and Sutter Health hospitals. This is a current list of affiliated sites:


 * AHMC Healthcare (Alhambra, Whittier)
 * California Heart Associates (Fresno)
 * California Maternal Fetal Medicine (Sacramento)
 * Capital Nephrology Medical Group (Elk Grove)
 * Capital Pediatrics (Sacramento)
 * Highland Hospital (Oakland)
 * Kaiser Permanente (Diablo Service Area, Modesto, Redwood City, Roseville, Sacramento, South Sacramento)
 * Mercy San Juan Medical Center - Dignity (Carmichael)
 * Oncology Associates of North California (Folsom)
 * Oroville Hospital (Oroville)
 * Pacific Heart (La Jolla)
 * Rocklin Family Practice and Sports Medicine (Rocklin)
 * San Joaquin General Hospital (French Camp)
 * Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (Santa Clara)
 * Sierra Vista Hospital (Sacramento)
 * Sutter Health (Roseville, Sacramento)

Medical hub
In December 2018, the California Northstate University Medical Center (CNUMC) was announced. Initially slated to be built in Elk Grove, in June 2021 the school announced its medical center would be built on property near Interstate 5 at the former location of Arco/Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. On February 15, 2022, the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously to approve planning entitlements for a new teaching hospital at the site. CNUMC is expected to be part of the Innovation Park project, which proposes to transform the location into a mixed residential, commercial, health, and educational area. Over the next 10 years, the Medical Center is expected to add significantly to the economic output in the region, producing nearly $14 billion and creating approximately 87,044 new jobs.

The Medical Center will be a 730,000 square foot teaching hospital with capacity for trauma care. It will have 350 beds, including 30 ICU beds with an additional 30 beds that can be flexed up to ICU level. It will also have 39 ER beds and 2 trauma care rooms with their own CT scan rooms. It is planned to be fourteen stories tall with state-of-art design for efficient and quality patient care.

CNUMC is anticipated to break ground in Fall 2024.

Accreditation
The College of Medicine was approved by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in August 2013 and gained preliminary accreditation in June 2015. The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) granted provisional accreditation in June 2019, and in January 2022, the LCME maintained provisional accreditation with further evaluation to follow during the academic year 2023-2024. In March of 2024, the LCME noted significant progress made, which was particularly acknowledged during the February 2024 LCME meeting. However, there are still areas where improvement is needed, particularly in administrative processes/documentation and demonstrating sustainability in various aspects such as curriculum design and student support. The LCME maintained the school's accreditation status as provisional on probation.

Looking ahead, the college has mapped out a clear pathway for success. The school will undergo a limited survey visit in February 2025, with an LCME review of progress scheduled for the June 2025 meeting. To ensure continued progress, a consultative visit with LCME representatives is scheduled, summer 2024, to review our current status and seek their guidance on additional actions. Despite the ongoing process with the LCME, the college remains accredited. Eligible students can continue to sit for licensing examinations and apply for residency programs. The COM focus remains on continuous improvement and providing the best possible medical education experience.