Hidalgo ISD’s Early College High School recognized twenty-two students that participated in the Doctor’s Hospital Renaissance (DHR) pharmacy camp.
Hidalgo Early College High School (HECHS) collaborated with The University of Houston College of Pharmacy, Region One and DHR to combine opportunities, resources and experiences for the students that were present.
HECHS aspires to foster a commitment to lifelong learning journey where students can gain skills and knowledge in the scientific field.
“The pharmacy camp really helped me better understand pharmacy and what its required from us,” said sophomore, Cassandra Prishker. “I would love to be a travel nurse so this experience and knowledge that has been shared with us has given me an idea on how to better plan my future in the health field.”
The students learned different aspects of pharmacy school from prerequisites, admissions and even real-life stories of students currently going through the Pharmacy Program.
The interactions and engaging experiences with their peers, and mentors and current Pharm.D. students really helped promote the collaborative environment in health care.
Moreover, students gain a greater understanding of the program as they participated in several hands-on activities focused on pharmacy.
During the activity, “students were able to differentiate medications to stimulate stomach acid, how to garb correctly for sterile compounding, practice sterile compounding intravenous (IV) bags, how to create and build simulated capsule, and how technology has improved different medication dosages,” explained Erica Alvarez, HECHS educator and department head of Career and Technology Education (CTE).
The students left the event feeling inspired and asking when there will be another pharmacy camp.
The camp was designed to help showcase the role of pharmacists to the students. It also served as a guide for any healthcare plans students may be looking forward to in their near future.
Additionally, exposing high school students to pharmacy will give them more options as they think about their careers.
“Attending the Pharmacy camp has served as a guidance for my future career,” stated junior, Nathan Osorio.
“I want to go into nursing, and I know this experience has taught me a lot more than the basics of pharmacy such as how to apply an IV, and how to use certain pills/medication, among other things that will someday come in handy when I get into the nursing program.”
Lastly, students toured the DHR health care facility, including the pharmacy department. They were excited to have had this opportunity with DHR, Region One, and The University of Houston College of Pharmacy.
“The students were eager to participate and knew some of the questions that were asked since they had already reviewed it and had learned it at our campus,” said Alvarez. “I’m immensely proud of our students and grateful for this opportunity.”
Just as Alvarez, the students too were immensely grateful for the hands-on experiences they received at DHR and most of all for their teachers who help them engage with pharmacists and researchers to learn more about the diverse field of pharmacy.
“I’m very appreciative to Mrs. Dimas, Mrs. Alvarez and Hidalgo ISD for going out of their way to give us these opportunities to gain knowledge about health care endorsement,” concluded Osorio.