Thursday, July 28, 2011
PrintSummer Brings Budding Pharmacists to Abilene
The School of Pharmacy recently hosted its annual Red Raider Pharmacy Summer Camp for high school students interested in health care careers.
Written by Mark Hendricks
Campers practice taking pulse rates during the Raider Red Pharmacy Summer Camp in Abilene.
For the fourth year, the School of Pharmacy’s Abilene regional campus hosted a group of aspiring pharmacists at the Raider Red Pharmacy Summer Camp. The camp included 26 high school juniors and seniors from Texas, California and Missouri who spent a week exploring the profession through hands-on learning experiences and activities.
“Each student that attended the camp this year truly wanted to experience the pharmacy profession,” said School of Pharmacy Unit Coordinator and camp contact Melissa Edwards.
Campers toured local health care facilities and met with college recruiters to discuss pre-pharmacy course requirements. They were also introduced to drug compounding, patient assessment and pharmacy laboratory research by School of Pharmacy faculty and local pharmacists.
“We try to ensure a sense of reality by exposing them to the dedication it takes for a person to commit themselves to pharmacy school and to a career in pharmacy,” Edwards said.
It’s “Guns Up” for the 2011 Raider Red Summer Pharmacy camp staff and campers.
Although the Abilene campus has been open for five years, Edwards said some people residents still don’t know it’s there. The camp spotlights the School of Pharmacy and reminds people that TTUHSC is a community resource.
“The more involved in the community we are the more we can keep their support, which we need to succeed,” Edwards said. “Thanks to the great support and coverage we get from the local television stations and the Abilene Reporter-News, people have already started calling about the camp for next year. I think it’s great that we can keep the camp local and help pharmacy grow in West Texas.”
The camp is sponsored the James A. “Buddy” Davidson Charitable Foundation, First Financial Bank, CVS/pharmacy, Walmart, Hendrick Medical Center, the Abilene Teachers Federal Credit Union, Barnes & Williams Drug Center, Big Country AHEC, TTUHSC and the School of Pharmacy.
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, (806) 743-2143.
2 Responses to “Summer Brings Budding Pharmacists to Abilene”
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School of Pharmacy
The School of Pharmacy was established in 1996 and now has campuses in Amarillo, Lubbock, Dallas and Abilene. Since its inception, the school has played a significant role in addressing the state's pharmacist shortage. Today, more than 90 percent of its graduates remain in Texas.
The school requires its students to complete more clinical training hours than any other pharmacy in the country, making its students some of the most sought after pharmacy graduates.
January 27th, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Will you be having a pharmacy camp in the summer of 2012?
February 2nd, 2012 at 2:02 pm
YES! THE CAMP DATES ARE SET FOR JUNE 4-8, 2012. IF YOU LOCATE THE ABILENE WEBPAGE CLICK ON THE SUMMER CAMP, YOU WILL FIND THE CAMP BROCHURE AND APPLICATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS YOU CAN CONTACT ME.