Student Voices: Amy He
Rising second-year student, Amy He, shares her experiences working with varied patient populations
Story by Amy He | Photo by Ryan McDaniel | Published May 7, 2024
Student Voices gives first-person perspectives written by the students of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. For this piece, we hear from second-year student, Amy He, about her valuable experiences with a student organization focused on community health.
As the daughter of immigrants, I spent most of my life moving. I have lived across six different states in both rural and urban settings. While I am accustomed to moving to a new community and learning how to assimilate into a new area, I was shocked by the small, niche community I found at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy – especially after residing in a larger community for the last few years of my life.
As I wrap up my first year of pharmacy school, I find myself reflecting on the unique opportunities presented to us. I was astounded to learn how much we could do as first-year students; after all, I feel that we have just scraped the surface of all there is to learn. In this past year, I was able to volunteer at SHAC as well as administer vaccines at the Student Stores Vaccine Clinic. Both opportunities allowed me to apply things we have learned in the classroom before we embark on our first immersions.
SHAC sees a large minority population, so this is another unique experience for those who have not encountered populations like this yet. One of the patients I saw spoke Chinese as their first language, which coincidentally is the same as my first language. While they did not need an interpreter, it was evident that there were certain cultural and language barriers that affected their ability to communicate. This was a bit of a shock to members on my team, as they were not familiar with this culture and a little unsure of how to proceed. This is only one instance in a multitude of cultures and identities, and I believe it imperative to learn how to approach these cases.
This past April was National Minority Month and now, with Asian-American Pacific Islander Month in full swing, it’s a good time to reflect on how we stand in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion. While we touch upon some of these topics in our classes, it’s not until you are in the real world that you experience and learn about the various minorities and their health disparities. That is why I believe taking the initiative to seek these opportunities to learn as much as you can is essential to our mission as pharmacists.
As the daughter of immigrants, I was raised on the principles of traditional medicine. In fact, I wasn’t aware of any OTC products until my late high school years. And so, I hope that as we work as a community to better ourselves, we seek the experiences and knowledge to holistically approach healthcare. That is why I am thankful for student organizations, such as SHAC and SNPhA, that focus on this principle and provide these opportunities. My experiences in these organizations have strengthened all that I have learned during my first year. And while this year was undoubtedly rigorous and consistently challenging, the lessons I have learned both within and outside of the classroom are things I will not soon forget.