Pharmacy camp plants seed for professional career

A summer camp that not only offered fun but a unique opportunity to gain valuable experience and skills came to Yuma for the first time this season thanks to the University of Arizona Pharmacy School.

Pharmacy Camp, a perennial program at the university's Tucson campus since 1997 was brought to Yuma through the Yuma Friends of the University of Arizona Health Sciences. This week 25 middle school students from Crane and Centennial Middle Schools had the chance to cultivate basic skills of a potential pharmacy career studying with U. of A students and professors.

The goal was not to have every camper become a pharmacist but to become academically primed in the head and the heart for a career in the sciences, Theodore Tong, associate dean of the College of Pharmacy, said.

According to the College of Pharmacy's Web page, www.pharmacy.arizona.edu, modern pharmacists are instrumental members of the health care team and usually offer the most frequent access to patients. Americans use about five billion prescriptions each year and the pharmacists play a critical role in their safe use.

"The idea behind pharmacy camp was to put science to work and challenge students to reach their highest potential," Tong said. "People worry that technology will put pharmacists out of business but their business will advance because of it."

Tanya Hodges, U. of A academic programs coordinator, based at the AWC campus, noted it is her job to develop career pathways so students can determine their best route to college.

"Yuma is a science based community; between YPG, YRMC and agriculture cultivation and business we are very highly scienced based, so we decided why not bring pharmacy camp here."

Anytime academics can inspire middle school students' interest in something other than popular culture, it plants a seed for a future professional career, David Lee, a professor at the College of Pharmacy and lead instructor of the camp, said.

"I believe learning can be fun and if it is not fun than it is not worth learning."

Before camp graduates received their certificates of completion, five groups each made a presentation in a vital health topic that included: immunization, influenza, summer ailments, drug abuse and tobacco cessation. Jordan Cramer, 13, an 8th grade student at Centennial this fall participated in the latter topic.

Jordan noted there are one billion smokers in the world and tobacco can cause chronic diseases from lung or pancreatic cancer to kidney failure. He said people should caution friends who smoke that they do not want to go through that. 

"I learned many things at camp. A pharmacist is a unique job and they are needed around the world but it is not always work, you can have fun doing your job."

David Jacobson, a third year U. of A pharmacy student and one of the camp counselors who worked as a teacher aide, said he hoped students learned how to conduct research, work as a group and get excited over the prospect of devoting themselves to a health career.

"When I was in junior high school I never got to work with college students. I think this opportunity gives students the motive to go to college and makes the possibility real to them."

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Yuma PharmCamp 2009 Yuma June 22-26, 2009, participants:
Centennial Middle School and Crane Middle School
Graduates:
Kaitylnn Burrelson,  Sarah Cheung,  Daniel Cheung,  Jordan Cramer,  Jacob Cypert,  Alex Deckey,  Jake Garcia,  Arianna Garibay,  Joshua Gonzales,  Aixa Gonzalez,  Abbi Grzyb,  Leslie Guitierrez,  Diego Huston,  Steven Le,  Lorena Matus,  Briana Nieves,  Janell Orozco,  Fabian Quezada,  Austin Ramsay,  Mary Beth Schleicher,  Selena Shelton, Joshua Smith,  Jac'Quez Steptoe,  Marissa Urena,  Caleb Villapudua
Counselors:
Sarena DeBaca,  Sarah Farley,  Alexis Guitierrez,  Christina Ho,  Chelsea Hodges,  David Jacobson,  Alexandria Lau,  Rajal Patel,  Cinthia Reyes