Kara Lee Combined Pharmacy Education and ROTC Experience During Internship at Tripler Army Medical Center

Kara Lee, a third-year undergraduate student in the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, completed an internship at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, an experience that allowed her to further her pharmacy education while utilizing the skills she’s learned as a part of ROTC.

“In the internship, we not only shadowed the medical and clinical side of the hospital, but we also got to shadow the Army Medical Service Corps officers, which was also cool because right now I’m deciding between if I want to go to pharmacy school to be an Army pharmacist or if I want to go into active duty and become an officer right away,” Lee said.

Lee was born in the United States but grew up in Korea. As a kid who enjoyed studying chemistry, math, and biology, veterinary school was her original goal before she discovered her interest in pharmacy careers and the opportunities that were available through the US military. She moved back to the US before college and decided to go to UCI, where, in addition to her studies, Lee is part of the ROTC program.

ROTC, or the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, is a program that provides college students with training to become officers in the US military. In the program, Lee must complete physical training as well as ROTC-specific courses, such as a military science class. Now, as a junior, Lee is also responsible for teaching younger ROTC students.

The Tripler Army Medical Center internship allowed students to explore areas of the medical field that they expressed interest in. While some students took the time to work in multiple areas, Lee used the experience as an opportunity to dive deeply into the different roles that pharmacists hold in a hospital setting.

“I wanted to experience the pharmacy side, so for the first three weeks I was with the pharmacy department, and the last week I was with the actual Army unit. The first three weeks I was with inpatient pharmacy, outpatient oncology, NICU, ICU, the emergency department, and family care pharmacy,” said Lee. 

Lee was able to closely observe the day-to-day duties of working pharmacists in the Tripler Army Medical Center, getting an in-depth view of the possibilities of her future career. Some highlights of the experience include watching surgeries and being taught about cancer treatment, an aspect of hospital pharmacy care that is close to her heart.

“I shadowed pharmacists in the hospital, and I went on rounds with them and met patients with them. I was also fortunate enough to watch two surgeries, a knee surgery and a neurosurgery,” she shared. “I found oncology and the ICU really interesting. My grandparents passed away because of cancer, so I was familiar with cancer drugs and chemo. I actually got to look at how IVs are made and how chemotherapy works.”

By exploring a multitude of pharmacist responsibilities within the hospital, Lee expanded her existing ideas about a career as a pharmacist: “I really wanted to experience how a hospital pharmacy would be, and I love the pharmacy environment in the hospital, so it was a great experience.”