As another academic year comes to a close, a new generation of healthcare professionals enters the workforce striving to improve the health of their communities. Each new graduate earns their degree after being seasoned by both a wealth of knowledge in the classroom and clinical experience while on rotation. One new pharmacist, Helen Berhane, Pharm.D., graduated from the Touro University California (TUC) College of Pharmacy on May 19th. Were it not for the experiences she had during rotation, she says that she wouldn’t have considered her upcoming residency at Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
While rotating throughout California, Dr. Berhane saw up close the innocence of children who face difficult diseases. Being in a position to help those so young and small fighting something fully out of their control inspired her to do all that she could, she says.
“I saw children who despite having severe illnesses still smiled and enjoyed life,” reflected Dr. Berhane. “That made it even more motivating to chart their daily progress and optimize their antibiotics, pain regimens, and overall care.”
As a pharmacist, knowing not only what is going wrong in the body but how on a molecular level the medications compensate for the damage that is happening is a skill that Dr. Berhane finds essential not only for providing care but also in easing the fears that patients have about their treatment.
“People will often have a fear of drugs or Western medication, especially if they come from underserved communities,” she stressed. “When you understand what is going on at a molecular level, it can help to deliver the message of just how it will help them.”
A first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Eritrea, Dr. Berhane is the first of her family to go to college and pursue a doctoral degree. At home, she has used her knowledge to ease her mother’s concerns about the insulin she takes.
On a different clinical rotation, Dr. Berhane strove to arrange long-term treatment plans for refugees on expiring visas who would soon be returning home. In some cases, the diseases carry cultural stigmas, such as HIV, and she would try to help patients find ways to continue treatment even as they were afraid to store the medication in their own homes.
Looking back on her four years as a graduate student at TUC, Dr. Berhane is spirited by the experience.
“The university and the greater Vallejo area was the perfect environment for my graduate study,” she stated. “It is so easy to be involved. Not just with extracurricular activities and in the community, but by getting to know the faculty and the dean.”
It was a community that came to support her during the university’s annual Mosaic Diversity Scholarship Fundraiser Celebration, an event that happens every April, where donors and sponsors from throughout Solano County come together to support students just like Dr. Berhane in their academic climb.
“It really helped me be less concerned about financial burdens and focus more on what I wanted to accomplish, both in terms of research and community service,” Dr. Berhane remembered. “It really helped me in that regard. And it felt great to be part of a celebration of diversity inclusion. That’s something that I really stand for.”
