College of Pharmacy Hosts 37 Students at Summer Camp

By Sally Graham

Jared Dietz, a senior from Searcy, enjoys getting hands-on experience in the compounding lab during Pharmacy Camp.
Jared Dietz, a senior from Searcy, enjoys getting hands-on experience in the compounding lab
during Pharmacy Camp.
Andrea Mooney, a fourth-year pharmacy student, assists Ryan Anglin, a senior from Cabot, with aloe vera foam.
Andrea Mooney, a fourth-year pharmacy student, assists Ryan Anglin, a senior from Cabot,
with aloe vera foam.
 All Pharmacy Camp students have three sessions in the lab where they learn to follow a formula to produce their own compounds.
All Pharmacy Camp students have three sessions in the lab where they learn to follow a formula to produce their own compounds.

“Look at this! It’s called majestic purple,” Hunt, a high school senior from Wynne, said enthusiastically, as she held up a small plastic bottle filled with liquid dye.

Across the table, Jared Dietz, a senior from Searcy, was heating a beaker of shea butter and aloe vera body lotion he’d already fragranced with Polo Sport by Ralph Lauren.

Hunt and Dietz are two of 37 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 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 11-15, 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 35 from Arkansas, one from Louisiana and one from Kansas.

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.

“Overall, it’s a good environment,” said Aarondrick Knox, a high school senior from Kansas City. Knox, whose cousin is in medical school at UAMS, says he’s confident the experience will help him “get to the next level” in reaching his goals. “Advisors here make the experience comfortable. When you really need them, they’re there,” said Knox.