From a young age, Julie Lu, PharmD '23, knew she wanted to care for vulnerable individuals.
Her parents continually led by example and taught her to be kind and help others.
During her undergraduate years, Lu believed becoming a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) was the correct path for her. Thus following graduation from the University of Georgia, she took two gap years to work at a retail pharmacy. She enjoyed the patient-care interactions and the relationships she built with pharmacists, technicians, and other healthcare providers. And she learned that going to pharmacy school offered versatility. She could pursue a career not only in retail pharmacy and hospitals, but in industry, consulting and other areas.
Lu said her family was the deciding factor in her choice to attend PCOM Georgia. Having attended UGA during her undergraduate years, she drove home two to three times a week because she missed the “sense of community” she found in Gwinnett as a life-long resident.
She said, “PCOM Georgia was close to home, but also allowed me to be in smaller classrooms with students my age who may have had other careers or took gap years.”
Lu has been very active in professional societies while in pharmacy school, serving as the membership vice president of the American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Student Pharmacists, the president of the PCOM Chapter of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, and the treasurer of the Rho Chi Honor Society.
She said, “PCOM Georgia has allowed me to grow as an individual and healthcare provider. I have learned to gain confidence in my decisions. I've also been able to connect and build relationships.”
She said pharmacy school has allowed her to connect “with students, professors and other healthcare students. These relationships and connections are valuable during school and as you move forward in your career.”
She reflected on being introverted during her first year at PCOM Georgia. “However, I was lucky to come out of my shell to find my group of people and amazing professors to mentor me.”
Starting in June, Lu will be a PGY1 pharmacy resident at Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown Hospital. After her residency program, she plans to become a board-certified clinical pharmacist and specialize in infectious disease. Her long-term goal is to open a medical hub where the pharmacy is the central component of the community's healthcare system.
“The medical hub will allow patients to see their primary care physician and specialists under one roof, while pharmacists play a key role at each step. My goal is to educate and make health care accessible to all who come through its doors,” she said.
“Our job as healthcare providers is to provide patients with the utmost respect and care because they chose to entrust their lives to us.”
Lu gave a special shout-out to two people she met at pharmacy school. Laura Nguyen, PharmD '22, is Lu's role model and mentor. “She has always seen my potential, even when I can't.
I am grateful for her friendship and continual support.”
Nguyen is currently a PGY1 resident at Piedmont Columbus and will be a PGY2 emergency medicine resident at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic in Iowa City.
Her other special person is Phu Duong, PharmD '23, a fellow pharmacy classmate and her fiancé. “I was lucky to have met my best friend while at PCOM,” she said. “He is extraordinary and pushes me to be a better pharmacist.” Duong will join Lu at Columbus, where they will complete their PGY1 residency programs.
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