The fourth graduating class from UCSD's Skaggs School of Pharmacy will receive their doctoral degrees tomorrow. Three of the graduates spent their final clinical rotation in Vietnam.
The three are the first students to take part in a cultural exchange with the Ho Chi Minh School of Pharmacy in Vietnam.
Budding pharmacist Lannie Duong says it was an eye-opening experience. For example, she says they toured one hospital that had only two pharmacists to serve 1,000 beds.
Duong says their time in Vietnam made them see the U.S. healthcare system in a different light.
"Because we've seen the other end of the spectrum," Duong says. "And being back here, we want to be able to serve the Vietnamese community here, as well as any underserved community wherever we decide to practice."
Duong and 55 other students will receive their Ph.D in pharmacy tomorrow. Most of them will pursue post-graduate residencies or fellowships.
