Each summer, the UMKC School of Pharmacy offers students preparing for college a closer look at the opportunities that abound in the field of pharmacy.
The annual Summer Pharmacy Camp provides a unique opportunity to learn about pharmacy and the opportunities UMKC offers through hands-on activities, panel discussions with pharmacists and interactions with current Pharm.D. students and faculty.
These one-day camps are offered on each of the School of Pharmacy’s three campuses. Sessions will take place on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus on June 5, the Missouri State University campus in Springfield on June 19 and the UMKC campus on June 26. Registration is now open for the 2020 Pharmacy Camp.
Anyone who has completed the ninth grade is eligible to attend. Nearly 100 prospective students attended the three camps in 2019, including about 50 at the Kansas City camp. Most of those were high school and college students from Missouri. The Kansas City camp also included one older camper, a working professional who was interested going back to school to become a pharmacist.
View photos from 2019 Summer Pharmacy Camp – Kansas City
Amanda Hoelting, camp coordinator and a student recruitment specialist, explained that introducing prospective students to the many careers available to pharmacists is a large part of the camp’s mission.
“We’re here to help students figure out if this is something they want to do,” Hoelting said. “Our goal is to show prospective students the many options available in pharmacy and help them narrow those down. The camp is also good for students who have an interest in health care but aren’t sure what they want to do.”
Allison Adlich, a Warrensburg High School student, was one of those students who attended the camp in Kansas City last summer still trying to decided where her future lies.
“I know you can make a career as a pharmacist,” she said. “But I didn’t know all the different paths you can take in pharmacy. I thought you just go to school, then go to work at Walgreens. But I’ve learned you can work in a lot of different areas as a pharmacist.”