Last week, high school students from all over Denver were on campus to gain a first-hand experience of what it could be like to be a pharmacist.
The Bugs and Drugs Summer Camp brings students ages 14-18 to the Anschutz Medical Campus for a one-week camp about infectious disease.
“Our goal is to expose high school students to the pharmacist’s role in infectious disease and how to treat it,” said Briana Carroll, a student in the PharmD program at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
It’s the first time the camp has been offered by the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy, but it likely won’t be the last. With sessions ranging from viruses and bacteria to aseptic technique and compounding, the camp has been popular among the students.
“On Tuesday, we garbed up and made IV bags, which was really cool to get to do for a camp,” said Petra Erhardt, a senior from Fairview High School who attended the summer camp. “And we actually get to make things.”
The camp concluded with a guest lecture by Dr. Sarah Scoular, assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and director of the Pharmacy Care Learning Center. Her talk focused on the role of an infectious disease pharmacist.
“It’s been a really fun experience – to be able to get into a normal professional setting and work in a lab like this,” said Rachel Sheraden, a junior at George Washington High School. “I do want to go into a science-based career and this allows me to see a little more of what that might entail.”
