College of Pharmacy Hosts 35 Students at Summer Camp

By Nate Hinkel

 Melissa Bloch, of Alexandria, La., works in the compounding lab during the fifth annual Pharmacy Camp.

June 9, 2011 | Meticulously scooping and weighing a sticky clump of lanolin, Jessica Compton is enjoying her first assignment inside a college-level laboratory.

“This is the stickiest stuff I’ve ever seen,” she said. “It’s amazing the different sorts of things that go into every-day products.”

Compton, a junior from Bismarck, is one of 35 high school students attending the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy’s fifth annual summer Pharmacy Camp. For most, it’s their first exposure to a complex laboratory experience. During the weeklong event, campers spend three sessions in the College’s compounding lab, making take-home products like lip balm and cuticle cream.

“The compounding lab is always one of the more popular activities we’ll do throughout the week,” said Camp Coordinator Eddie Dunn, Pharm.D., associate professor of pharmacy practice. “But it’s just one aspect of the pharmacy profession that we expose them to during the camp. They get a full range of experiences that we hope will encourage them to pursue the educational path toward pharmacy.”

The camp, which runs June 5-9, is designed for high school juniors and seniors interested in learning more about the challenging career pathway opportunities in the profession of pharmacy. The class includes 30 from Arkansas, four from Texas and one from Louisiana. The camp is sponsored by the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, which underwrites much of the cost.

Camp participants stay in campus housing, hear presentations about preparation for pharmacy school, career opportunities, professional conduct and ethics, and interviewing and communication skills. They also visit pharmacies, learn about research, and experience pharmaceutical compounding and monitoring for hypertension, diabetes and asthma. The camp incorporates hands-on training and lectures by College of Pharmacy faculty with a variety of social activities.

“It’s worth it to me to have come all the way here to have these experiences,” said Imani Alexander, a high school junior from Houston. “Hopefully I’ll end up studying at the College of Pharmacy and making a career out of it.”