Camps Introduce High School Students to Health Profession

This summer, high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors received a comprehensive look at the nursing and pharmacy fields through a dynamic range of activities during two camps held at St. John Fisher University.

The Wegmans School of Nursing and Wegmans School of Pharmacy each hosted camps designed to spark enthusiasm and increase knowledge in their respective fields. Campers learned life-saving techniques including CPR and stop-the-bleed training, and engaged in hands-on nursing and pharmacy simulations through cutting-edge virtual reality technology. Campers also had the opportunity to meet with Fisher alumni and current students to hear about their experiences and learn more about the college application process. In addition, they each spent time at area hospitals, touring medical facilities and shadowing nurses and pharmacists.

“Cardinal Nurse Camp gives students a glimpse into the complexities and rewards of the profession, and helps them understand what it means to be a nurse,” said Dr. Tricia Gatlin, dean of the School of Nursing.

Cardinal Nurse Camp is an initiative of the Fisher Improves Nursing through Diversity (FIND) program and is funded in part by a $1.1 million Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Nursing Workforce Diversity Program grant over three years. This is the second year of the grant, and the Wegmans School of Nursing was one of only eight grant awardees in New York state.

In the School of Pharmacy, campers engaged in a role-playing exercise, acting as a pharmacist as they learned how to counsel patients. Like their peers in Cardinal Nurse Camp, they also participated in a community service project.

“The camp is diligently designed to expose the attendees to various roles a pharmacist plays in patient care and well-being and spark their interest in pharmacy as a career path,” said Dr. Christine Birnie, dean of the School of Pharmacy.

Birnie added that the camp is just one of the ways they promote the pharmacy profession. Throughout the year, faculty and staff members visit schools, host workshops, and engage with the community in an effort to bolster knowledge about the field of pharmacy.