PharmD Students Break Down Healthcare Barriers

For some cultures, it’s particularly unusual because the pharmacy profession is not the same as it is in the United States. One such culture is the Indian community. What pharmacists do and represent in India is quite different than in the US.

Students from Touro University California’s Indian Student Health Alliance (ISHA) are working to change that within the Indian community with a series of volunteer clinics at the Sikh Temple in Fairfield, as well as the annual Gurdwara gathering in Yuba City.

The students, under the supervision of preceptors, TUC alumni Drs. Amarprit and Davinderjit Nijjar, provide some basic health screenings, like blood pressure monitoring. Like most seemingly small health concerns, a consideration like blood pressure has reach across numerous health systems in the body.

“The Sikh community and Indian community are very vulnerable, but for minor health problems, they often won’t even go see a doctor,” said ISHA member and student-pharmacist Nishtha Tiwari.

Student-pharmacist Gangandeep Kaur, who helped at the clinics, finds it helpful that she shares the cultural awareness of other ISHA members, which make it easier to relate to this population.

“I know this (clinics) is something the Indian community isn’t really aware of right now, but because I have this connection, I know what they’re lacking,” she said.

At the event in Yuba City alone, the students provided services to nearly 100 guests. It may seem like a small figure compared to the number of people at the gathering, but it’s a big victory for a profession with mixed levels of support in the Indian community.

“Sometimes in India, people trust the pharmacist more simply because they are not touching you in any way, just dispensing medicine,” said student-pharmacist Manvir Kaur. “But normally, there isn’t the same level of respect as with nurses and doctors.”

Being culturally similar and often being able to approach these guests in their native language broke a lot of barriers.

“Even if they had a blood pressure monitor at home, people were telling us ‘oh, I trust you,’” Tiwari said. “That white coat really represents a lot.”

It’s not entirely uncommon for immigrant communities to avoid health care settings and other institutions of authority for numerous reason. The pharmacy students are hoping to help change the narrative and encourage more members of the Indian community to seek out basic health screenings, and to understand what some of these results could be saying about their general health.

The students are also trying to raise the profile and esteem of their own profession while practicing the skills they are learning in their PharmD program.

“One of the reasons we went there was to show that pharmacists do these things, as well,” Gangandeep said. “I never volunteered for anything before coming to Touro, but this has been a great experience.”