Sharon L. Youmans<\/a>, PharmD, MPH, \u201cThis program is really to reach out to those who might think that going to pharmacy school is not in the cards for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\u200b\u200bFunded by UCSF\u2019s School of Pharmacy and the California Health Care Foundation, the program aims to grow the state\u2019s pharmacy workforce, especially in rural areas and those with poor access to health care, such as the Central Valley.<\/p>\n
Think of what a PharmD might mean<\/p>\n
For many pharmacy technicians, the jump to pharmacist promises a better salary \u2014 up to 3 times more \u2014 increased job flexibility, and closer connections with patients \u2014 factors that drew Vanessa Pubill and Bibiana Arroyo to join the program\u2019s first cohort this summer.<\/p>\n
A former bakery owner, Pubill became a pharmacy technician at the suggestion of her brother, who thought it would be a perfect fit: \u201cI wanted to get into medicine but the \u2018clean side of it,\u2019 as people say \u2014 I just didn\u2019t see myself dealing with blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pubill found her way behind the counter at a local retail pharmacy. It wasn\u2019t long before the single mom began to think of what a PharmD might mean for her \u2014 and her daughter.<\/p>\n
Venessa Pubill is a pharmacy technician and one of the first people to participate in the UCSF PharmTech to PharmD Pathway Program. Photo by Brian Feulner<\/p>\n
\u201cA pharmacist\u2019s salary is much better than a tech salary: We\u2019d be able to have a stable roof over our heads but also afford other things, like schooling or tutoring,\u201d explains Pubill from her home in Manteca, her daughter tugging at her pants. \u201cI want my child to be able to see the world so that she doesn\u2019t feel boxed in \u2014 I think that\u2019s really important as a young woman.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a PharmD opens up more job opportunities across the state, she adds. Alongside the draw of an automatic interview to UCSF\u2019s PharmD program, Pubill says the new program has provided the support she needed \u2014 all while fitting into her schedule as a working parent.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Youmans has really become a mentor: If I have a question, I know I\u2019d be able to call her,\u201d she says of the executive vice dean. \u201cSometimes you just need reassurance that you\u2019re on track and that someone\u2019s in your corner.\u201d<\/p>\n
From clinics to communities<\/p>\n
In Modesto, Bibiana Arroyo came to the pharmacy profession after unexpectedly finding herself back in her hometown as a young adult \u2014 and unemployed.<\/p>\n
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\u201c… Pursuing a PharmD is, I feel, the best way to channel my passion for the science of medications and improving patients\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bibiana Arroyo, PharmTech to PharmD Pathway Program participant<\/p>\n
\u201cI literally just walked around my neighborhood and knocked at every small business because I didn\u2019t have a car,\u201d she remembers. \u201cI was hired as a pharmacy clerk at this independent pharmacy. Soon after, the owner said he wanted me to become his pharmacy tech.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than a decade later, Arroyo now works as a pharmacy technician supervisor for a major health care system in the state, managing nearly two dozen pharmacy techs. Together, her team negotiates with health insurance companies to ensure patients with chronic or complicated illnesses get the medications they need \u2014 a skill she first learned while working with UCSF\u2019s cardiology department.<\/p>\n
A desire to know more about medications and connect with patients drove her to apply to UCSF\u2019s new pathway program.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my community pharmacy, I saw how pharmacists were not just dispensing medication but were counseling patients and serving as an accessible health care resource,\u201d Arroyo says. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times a patient came in and would trust a pharmacist\u2019s word even more than what their doctors. It opened my mind about how vital pharmacists are in clinical settings but also in communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
UCSF staff and faculty helped Arroyo identify the courses she needs to apply to a PharmD program. She plans to complete the courses at a local community college. The guaranteed interview with UCSF PharmD degree program once she\u2019s done, is something that she says many in the program could only have dreamt of.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier in my career, I never envisioned that I would want to become a pharmacist,\u201d she says. \u201cNow, pursuing a PharmD is, I feel, the best way to channel my passion for the science of medications and improving patients\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bibiana Arroyo (left), a pharmacy technician supervisor, joined the UCSF PharmTech to PharmD Pathway Program\u2019s first cohort in summer of 2025. Photo by Maurice Ramirez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly 9 million Californians live in a pharmacy desert, where the nearest pharmacy is farther away than a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[163,521,85,46],"class_list":["post-88298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}