Three Kids, One PharmD: Lubna Khan Balances Family and Pharmacy School

For Lubna Khan, the journey to commencement with the Class of 2025 went far beyond three years of education and training in UCSF’s PharmD program. It included many additional life lessons — like sacrifice, overcoming doubt with perseverance — learned from the intensity of entering pharmacy school with a toddler and a baby, then welcoming her third child during the final exams of her second year. 

Khan, a first-gen graduate, has managed to balance the demands of grad school with the challenges of motherhood thanks to her family support system based in Stockton, California, a commute of about an hour and 45 minutes to UCSF. Her interest in health care began when her family moved to Stockton from their native Pakistan. 
 
“I moved to the United States when I was 14. I started high school and didn’t speak any English. I didn't know a lot about pharmacy school or being a pharmacist,” she said. “My mom had diabetes, and I wanted to know more about why she was on cholesterol medications and blood pressure medications. I wanted to help her out, and I was just curious.” 

That curiosity evolved into ambition and determination, as well as going against family tradition to pursue a college education. 

“My dad was very strict. He just wanted me to finish high school and get married and stay at home,” she said. “He changed later on, but I had to fight for it.” 

No guarantees, just hard work 

Khan initially attended community college and regularly took her mom to doctor’s appointments in between classes, acting as translator and developing her passion for health care. She earned her bachelor’s degree at California State University in Sacramento in 2014, then worked as a pharmacy technician for eight years before applying first to the UCSF School of Pharmacy’s Post-Baccalaureate Program and eventually for admission into the PharmD program. 

During her post-bacc studies, which took place entirely on Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her support system expanded. 

"It was just myself and another student [in the Post-Bacc Program], and we knew we had to work hard because there were no guarantees that we’d get interviewed for the UCSF School of Pharmacy. We took the same classes and studied together, and we helped each other, because we both have kids. Sometimes you need to talk to someone other than your family — someone in your cohort who is going through what you’re going through," she said. “I have a hell of a village.” 

But pursuing a PharmD degree meant making hard choices, including living apart from her children during long stretches of the academic year and driving back to Stockton to see them on weekends when she could. Her husband, mother, mother-in-law, and sister helped raise her kids in Stockton when she couldn’t come home, making occasional weekend visits to San Francisco.  

Her current routine:  Coordinating drop-off for her daughter’s school in Stockton as well as care for her two sons, before making the long commute to her clinical rotation at the UC Davis Midtown Ambulatory Care Clinic in Sacramento as part of the PharmD curriculum. 

There were moments when she was so overwhelmed and exhausted that she considered giving up, but her husband helped keep her on track.  

"He reminded me that I was doing this not only for myself, but for our family and our future,” she said. “He said that when our kids get older, they're going to see that I didn't give up, and they’ll be inspired.”  

Balancing the dream with the reality 

Upon bouncing back, Khan was even more resolved to reach graduation. Near the end of her second year, she gave birth to her third child and just days later completed multiple Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) back-to-back despite advice from faculty to delay the tests. 

“I said no because if I had waited, I would have been stressed the whole time, thinking about the exam — and with a baby, too,” she said.  

Khan applied the same tenacity when she started her rotations, as scheduled, with a newborn.  

“My parents are very traditional. My mom didn't want me to travel,” Khan said. “I was leaving the baby with my sister, and I was going to San Francisco for days at a time, and then we started our rotations. It wasn’t easy, but I didn’t want to skip a rotation because it causes a lot of problems, like having to reapply for financial aid. I just wanted to be done at the same time as everyone else in my pharmacy class.” 

Looking ahead, Lubna plans to return to retail pharmacy after graduation, to help patients in underserved communities who are grappling with communication challenges or language barriers better understand their medications — the same way she has helped her mom. 

“In retail pharmacy, you learn a lot about drugs, but also about people. You get to talk to patients and see their struggles, their anger. You also learn a lot about insurance, like Medi-Cal and Medicaid,” she said. “I got used to working in a busy place.” 

Khan has proven repeatedly that there’s nothing she can’t handle, both personally and professionally.  

“Nothing is hard if you really want it and you’re really dedicated,” she said. “Just keep on doing what you have to do, and one day you’ll be done and you’ll be so glad you didn’t quit. You’ll realize it was all worth it.”