School of Pharmacy Summer Camp Registration Open
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Pharmacy is hosting 5 one-day summer camps for high school students and incoming freshmen June 13, 15, 17, 20 and 24. Summer camp will take place on the Lawrence Campus, where participants explore the many career opportunities of a KU pharmacy degree. Registration is now open through the Pharmacy Summer Camp website.
Designed by current pharmacy students, summer camp is a hands-on experience. Campers are engaged from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Cost is $50 and includes snacks and meals. Participants will be guided through activities by current pharmacy students and pharmacy school faculty.
The participant experience will include:
- Career discovery — exploring the ever-increasing career opportunities for pharmacists.
- Learning about various pharmacy practice settings, including community pharmacy and institutional hospital practice sites.
- Visiting campus research laboratories and interacting with basic science faculty.
- Utilizing the pharmacy school facilities, including lecture classrooms and the pharmacy practice skills lab.
- Hands-on, nonsterile compounding of medications.
- Working with current pharmacy students to learn more about patient counseling, diabetes education, immunizations and more.
- Discussion of current pharmacy practice methods with real-life practitioners during a virtual tour of local pharmacies.
Joe Heidrick, associate dean for experiential education and clinical assistant professor, helped create the pharmacy summer camp and has been part of the camp faculty since its inception.
“Summer camp is such a great opportunity for high school students to explore the vast career opportunities available within the pharmacy profession — through the lens of current pharmacy students,” Heidrick said. “We realized we cannot expect young people to be excited about the profession unless we give them reason to be excited. Summer camp is made fun by our students and the supportive relationship we build with our campers.”
“Attending this camp solidified my decision to come to KU and pursue pharmacy because it let me dip my toes into everything the School of Pharmacy has to offer,” said Izumi Asano, a pharmacy student from Manhattan who attended summer camp as a high school senior. “I was able to practice compounding, perform a mock counsel, visit local pharmacies and network with pharmacy students and professors.”
“KU Pharmacy Camp was a great way for me to get hands-on experience and knowledge about what it was like to be a pharmacy student and a future pharmacist,” said Michael Garitz, a current third-year pharmacy student from Parkville, Missouri. “It opened up my eyes to all of the many opportunities and fields a pharmacist can go into, and I would recommend KU Pharmacy Camp to anyone considering a career in pharmacy.”
The KU School of Pharmacy Summer Camp has limited space available. Registration will be closed when full.