Last week, 10 CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy students and staff members boarded a plane to the HOSA International Leadership Conference with seven suitcases, multiple carry-ons, and a goal of talking to as many high school students interested in health care as possible.
With presentations from Associate Deans Catherine Jarvis and Laura Borgelt and P4 students, Cameron Phillips and Joshua Sanchez, conference attendees were able to get an inside look into one of the nation’s top pharmacy schools.
First up on the conference docket, the presentation by Phillips and Sanchez focused on ”super bugs” and included an interactive component where participants learned how bacteria replicate and become resistant to antibiotics.
Dr. Borgelt’s presentation, “HASHing It Out: The Truth about Medical Marijuana,” was so popular a third session was added on to the conference’s schedule. Her topic, delivered to more than 300 people, focused on medical marijuana state laws and marijuana’s characteristics and potential effects on patients.
Finally, Dr. Jarvis’s presentation highlighted pharmacy practice skills demonstration events hosted by CU at Colorado HOSA state conferences in 2015 and 2016 and the push to make pharmacy a better recognized career pathway within HOSA.
Diving in
Back at the exhibit hall, Director of Marketing and Recruitment, Cammie Kennedy, along withP2 student ambassadors, Dianne Kitt and Mackenzie Poole, and CU Denver Assistant Director Jaime Alvarez, engaged the high schoolers in pharmacy compounding and acetaminophen activities that led to an enormous amount of learning about the profession of pharmacy and an unprecedented amount of engagement on the school’s social media accounts.
Given the direct engagement with nearly 600 HOSA members and more than 100 HOSA advisors, it’s safe to say the conference was a huge success all-around.
