Our Lead Faculty

PharmAchieve has quickly developed a stellar reputation for delivering high-quality training for the PEBC OSCE and MCQ. Our highly qualified instructors are passionate about teaching and committed to excellence.

	Negeen Katirai, RPh, PharmD, is the lead OSCE instructor and President of PharmAchieve. She is a licensed pharmacist in Ontario, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts and completed her doctorate in Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. She currently practices as a pharmacist at Mount Sinai Hospital (a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto), and prior held a "Senior Pharmacist" position at Brigham & Woman's Hospital (a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School). In addition to her hospital practice, Negeen has held retail pharmacy positions in both Canada and the United States.
	Hina Marsonia, RPh, CGP, CAP, PharmD serves as a lead MCQ instructor and an OSCE instructor at PharmAchieve. She completed her doctorate in Pharmacy at the University of Colorado and her BSc. in Pharmacy from the University of Toronto. As the head of an accredited pharmacy residency program at a 3 hospitals of the William Osler Health System, Hina teaches and mentors residents completing their accredited hospital residencies. Hina also serves as a preceptor for the University of Toronto's Faculty of Pharmacy and is a member of the Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) Professional Practice committee where she helps to review and develop regulations. She is a Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (CGP) and a Certified Anticoagulation Provider. Hina's past experience also includes serving as an PEBC assessor and a PEBC track leader -- a position in which she managed and directed PEBC assessors.
	Cindy Natsheh, RPh, BScPhm, ACPR, PharmD completed a doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Colorado; an accredited Pharmacy residency from the University Health Network (UHN); and a BSc in Pharmacy from the University of Toronto. Cindy is a lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Pharmacy, a position she has held since 2007. Since 2008, she has served as the Education Coordinator of UHN (the largest hospital system in Canada) where she is responsible for the pharmacy residency program and the training and mentoring of all pharmacists. Cindy has worked in a number of clinical areas at Toronto General Hospital and Toronto Western Hospital since 2000 where she also serves as a preceptor to multiple interns and residents. Cindy's past work also includes serving as a PEBC OSCE assessor.
	Najat Abu-Halimeh, RPh, BSc, MPharm acquired her BSc from the University of Toronto at 2003, and completed an MPharm degree from Aston University in England in 2007. She has worked as a staff pharmacist with several chain drug stores including Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, and Loblaw. Prior to becoming an instructor at PharmAchieve Najat served as a Senior OSCE Assessor at PharmAchieve where she has coached more than 400 students. Najat has a strong passion for teaching is frequently chosen by students in satisfaction surveys as one of their most favoured assessors.
	Hooman Katirai, BASc, RA, MSc, MScTP is the CEO of PharmAchieve. He completed two masters degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a three year traineeship at Harvard Medical School. In addition to serving as the CEO of PharmAchieve, Hooman serves as a consultant to healthcare institutions and his past clients include Alberta Health Services, Shoppers Drug Mart, the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), eHealth Ontario, and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC). He has served as the lead architect of five large provincial healthcare projects in Ontario and Alberta such as BDDI -- a project used by 9000 physicians to manage the diabetes of 1 million patients and was one of 5 consultants engaged by the Canadian Pharmacists Association to develop the digital strategy for key publications including the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS) and Therapeutic Choices. Prior to incorporating PharmAchieve, Hooman served as a Manager of Consulting and Deals at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Our Pharmacists

PharmAchieve only employs licensed pharmacists to serve as assessors. All of our assessors work in positions that require them to frequently counsel patients. Many of our staff have PharmD degrees; several are instructors at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Pharmacy or the University of British Columbia. Our team collectively has certifications in geriatrics, asthma, diabetes, COPD, neonatology and anti-coagulation. Many work at leading hospitals and retail organizations. Each brings together their unique expertise and passion for teaching the next generation to improve counseling.

Our Standardized Patients

Our Standardized Patients are professional actors who also work or have worked for the standardized patient programs of local medical schools or government mandated health professional evaluation programs. We also sometimes use medical residents to pose as doctors. There are two different levels of Standardized Patients: those who can act as patients, and those who are also trained to give feedback. All of PharmAchieve's Standardized Patients are trained to give feedback. In satisfaction surveys PharmAchieve students consistently rate interaction with Standardized Patients as an highly valuable part of their learning experience.