On Saturday mornings, Pacific doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students can be found in midtown Sacramento volunteering at Clínica Tepati, a student-run free clinic that serves uninsured or underinsured patients primarily from the Latino community.

Students are assigned to a pod, which is typically made up of a medical student, a pharmacy student, a scribe and an interpreter. After assessing a patient, the members of the pod discuss their findings and develop recommendations, which are then presented to a volunteer physician.

“This experience gave me a bird’s-eye view of health care and how different disciplines operate and interact,” said Timofey Shimko ’24, PharmD, who started at Clinica Tepati as a first-year PharmD student and currently serves as one of the pharmacy preceptors. “More importantly, it reinforced my role as the medication expert.”

Clínica Tepati was founded in 1974 by University of California, Davis students to support the Latino community. The name was inspired by “tepatli,” the Nahuatl word for healer, an indigenous language spoken by the Aztecs. Today, the clinic is a collaboration between UC Davis undergraduate, physician assistant and medical students; California Northstate University medical students; and University of the Pacific PharmD students.

“Pharmacy students play a vital role at Clínica Tepati,” said Deepti Vyas, PharmD, professor of pharmacy practice, who established the partnership between Pacific and Clínica Tepati in 2021. “Under the supervision of licensed pharmacists and physicians, pharmacy students provide essential medication counseling, assist with prescriptions and contribute to person-centered care. Students are managing real patients with acute and chronic illnesses, which is pivotal in their professional identity formation. Through their involvement, pharmacy students gain hands-on clinical experience, enhance their interprofessional collaboration skills and make a meaningful impact on the health of the local community.”

The all-volunteer clinic operates year-round and has a reputation for compassionate and culturally relevant care. The clinic is open to patients from all cultural backgrounds. Many patients do not speak English, providing students with valuable experience delivering patient-centered care while speaking through an interpreter.

Volunteering at the clinic deepened Dr. Shimko’s empathy and passion for patience advocacy.

“One memorable experience involved a patient diagnosed with diabetes,” he said. “Ideally, she needed to start insulin, but she was afraid to initiate the medication. To help ease her fear, I offered to demonstrate the injection on myself to show that it was manageable. During that appointment, I developed a deeper understanding of the human aspect of health care. It’s not just about following an algorithm or prescribing the most effective treatment, it’s about meeting patients where they are.”

Jasmin Prasad ’25 shared how she used her training to dramatically improve a patient’s quality of life. While in the waiting area, she noticed a patient using a maintenance inhaler instead of a rescue inhaler. Prasad initiated a conversation and learned he had come to the clinic for diabetes management but also frequently experienced breathlessness—the severity of his asthma had led to a prior hospitalization. She was able to reeducate the patient on the proper use of his prescribed inhalers and advocated for adjustments to his therapy to better control his asthma.

“I was able to apply the skills I’ve learned in school, and it was heartwarming to know I could make a difference for the patient,” she said.

Approximately 90 Pacific PharmD students volunteer at Clínica Tepati each year.