Office of Public Relations – Newsroom
News Release
UCD "Pharmacy Camp" Encourages Diversity in the Pharmacy Profession
DENVER (June 3, 2004) — The University of Colorado Denver School of Pharmacy is giving high school students the opportunity to explore a career in the pharmacy profession, and gain an introduction to the college education required for pharmacy careers.
The CU School of Pharmacy's "Pharmacy Camp," June 7-11 at University of Colorado Denver's East Ninth Avenue campus, serves to interest, encourage and mentor 38 high school students from underrepresented minority groups to the pharmacy profession. Students will receive a preview of professional college education and an overview of a pharmacy curriculum.
Additionally, the high school students will meet with current CU School of Pharmacy students; visit pharmacies and meet practicing pharmacists; learn about patient counseling and patient care skills that are necessary for pharmacists, and will be exposed to pharmaceutical research.
"The Pharmacy Camp is an excellent way for students to learn about careers in pharmacy," said Jason Thompson, program administrator for the Center of Excellence Diversity Program at the CU School of Pharmacy. "Our goal is to provide leadership in attracting, encouraging and mentoring students from underrepresented groups early on in their educational careers, to develop a more diverse healthcare workforce."
Students will learn about diabetes, hypertension, substance abuse and addiction, nutrition and supplements, smoking cessation and how to interpret prescription orders. They will also learn about college requirements, and the application process for both college and financial aid.
The participating students are from the following high schools: East High School, WC Hinkley High School, Abraham Lincoln High School, George Washington High School, Florence Crittenton High School, Gateway High School, Overland High School, Montbello High School, Ranum High School, Grandview High School, John F. Kennedy High School, Manual High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.
The week-long, non-residential day program is in its second year, and is funded by a $1.5 million Center of Excellence grant administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration under the direction of Dr. Ralph Altiere, professor and associate dean for academic affairs. The program was created to serve the broader mission of the Center of Excellence Diversity Program, which provides leadership in the development and implementation of a health profession's educational system in which a more diverse healthcare workforce is trained to serve disadvantaged and underserved populations.
By encouraging students with ethnically and socially diverse backgrounds to participate in the Pharmacy Camp program, the CU School of Pharmacy is working toward a goal of training and educating a culturally diverse and culturally sensitive healthcare work force. For more information on the CU School of Pharmacy, visit www.uchsc.edu/sop/.
The University of Colorado Denver is one of four campuses in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the center includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and a teaching hospital. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu.