As a U.S. Navy veteran, first-generation college student, and third-year PharmD student, Phuong Phan sees a through line of service driving her desire to combine the discipline she learned in the military with her passion for science and patient care.

Born in Vietnam, Phan moved with her family to the Bay Area at age 13. No one in her family has a military background, she said, but a high school friend piqued her curiosity when she mentioned joining the Navy, so Phan decided to meet with a recruiter.

At first her parents didn’t understand. They wanted her to go directly to college, to take advantage of opportunities and education they didn’t have access to and that they immigrated to America to provide.

“I didn’t really know what I was interested in. In the Navy, you can experience many different career paths while also getting to travel,” she said. “I told my parents to give me a chance to do something different and to see the world, and that when I went back to school it would be paid for.”

Reawakening her passion for science

Her enlistment included posts in San Diego, Seattle, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, and Peru. She enjoyed the experience so much that she re-enlisted, and spent the next four years closer to home working at a naval station in the Central Valley.

“My job in the Navy had nothing to do with health care,” she said. “I was a mechanical technician fixing aircraft. I eventually realized that I wanted to go back to school, to follow my heart. I was always interested in biology and chemistry, and that’s what led me to pharmacy.”

Connecting technology with therapies

After the Navy, Phan completed her BS in biochemistry at San Francisco State University. She also interned at Genentech, which earned her a minor in computer application as well as a scholarship.

“I learned so much during my internship, which connected coding with drug discovery and the search for better therapies for patients,” she said. “I hope I can get better at the technical side in the future, and combine it with the clinical side of pharmacy.”

Problem-solving and purpose

UCSF was Phan’s top choice for pharmacy school. She has completed rotations in home infusion, pharmacy management, pediatric acute care, and inpatient pharmacy hospital operations.

“At first I didn’t know how many different career paths there are in pharmacy, but UCSF has given us so many opportunities to learn about all the different things you can do with a PharmD,” she said. “I’ve learned about problem-solving, process improvement, and leadership. So far, pediatric care is my favorite. Every kid is different, so you really have to think outside the box about different doses and different treatment directions. But you also get to see the kids go home healthy and happy because of something you did to help.”

Community and connection

As she settled into pharmacy school, Phan joined UCSF’s veteran community, becoming an ambassador with Student Veteran and Military Support Services to help connect veterans across UCSF’s schools and programs to resources, mentorship, and camaraderie.

"In my first year in pharmacy school, I was just trying to adjust to the pace and pass my exams,” she said. “But there are a lot of things to navigate when you’re going back to school after the military, and I want to help support the community by connecting them to resources and benefits they might not know about.”

Phan said that the Navy prepared her well for pharmacy by instilling in her a sense of respect for professionalism. “In a military environment, you always have to follow the rules, and you have to be professional because you’re representing the United States of America,” she said. “I apply that now to health care, knowing that I’m always representing the UCSF School of Pharmacy.”

Phan recently represented the school by presenting a poster at the annual California Society of Health-System Pharmacists seminar in San Diego. It was a full-circle moment for Phan, returning to the city where her military career began as she nears completion of her PharmD and prepares to begin a new chapter of service in health care.