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High school students were encouraged to learn as much as they can about professions that can change people’s lives during Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Healthcare Diversity Summer Camp. 

“The professions of pharmacy, nursing and dental medicine can relieve suffering and help ease the pain in people’s lives,” SIUE School of Pharmacy Dean Gireesh Gupchup told the group of students on Monday. 

Gupchup welcomed 22 high school students from St. Louis, Madison and St. Clair counties. “Once you’ve made someone feel better, there is no better feeling than that.” 

Students received an introduction and overview of SIUE on Monday. The schedule for the remainder of the week:

• Today – SIUE School of Nursing
• Wednesday – SIU School of Dental Medicine
• Thursday – SIUE School of Pharmacy
• Friday – Kaplan ACT crash course 

“These students are the cream of the crop. They all have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher,” said Dr. Lakesha Butler, SIUE Healthcare Diversity Summer Camp coordinator and clinical associate professor in the School of Pharmacy. 

Butler helped start the summer camp in 2009, when it targeted minorities interested in pharmacy. The camp expanded to include the three healthcare professions at SIUE in 2013.

“We realized the low minority representation in all the healthcare professional schools at SIUE,” Butler said. “It was, in part, because many minority students are not aware of the different healthcare professions that do exist.

“It is also important to note,” she continued, “that many times minority patients prefer a minority healthcare provider and with the changing U.S. demographics, the ultimate goal of this camp is to aid in helping to decrease healthcare disparities.”

This year’s summer camp received the most applications so far for the 22 designated spots. “We received more than 60 applications,” she said. “I think it was because of the good word of mouth from our previous camp participants. Also, the School of Pharmacy’s admissions team did a great job in spreading the word.”

Sarah Rice, a 16-year-old at Lutheran North High School with a 3.5 GPA, is considering becoming an anesthesiologist, but is also interested in pharmacy. “I like chemistry. I like dealing with medicine. And I do like helping people,” she said. “My mom is a home healthcare nurse.” 

Zivad Ahmed is attracted to dental medicine. “It’s the idea of being able to help out in the small details of the body,” said Ahmed, a 16-year-old senior at Lindbergh High School with a 3.6 GPA. “If you can take care of your teeth, you can prevent oral cancer. 

Keyvon Wilson is not quite sure what she wants to do. However, the 15-year-old O’Fallon Township Senior High School student with a 3.6 GPA is contemplating a career as a pediatrician. “I like children and want to help people,” Wilson said. “I want to be the kind of healthcare professional who is friendly, understandable and patient.”

 The camp was made possible by a $5,000 grant from Walgreens, which gives diversity grants to schools of pharmacy across the nation. 

SIUE School of Pharmacy: Today’s pharmacists improve patients’ lives through the medication and education they provide. Dedicated to developing a community of caring pharmacists, the SIUE School of Pharmacy curriculum is nationally recognized as a model that offers students a unique combination of classroom education, research, community service and patient care. The School of Pharmacy’s areas of excellence include drug design and discovery core; chronic pain research and practice; and diabetes research and practice. As the only downstate Illinois pharmacy doctorate program, the SIUE School of Pharmacy is addressing the growing need for highly trained pharmacists in a rapidly growing field. 

School of Nursing: The SIUE School of Nursing’s fully accredited programs are committed to creating excellence in nursing leadership through innovative teaching, evidence-based practice, quality research, patient advocacy and community service. Enrolling nearly 1,000 students in its baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders in pursuit of shaping the nursing profession and impacting the health care environment. Through expanded programs located on the SIU Carbondale campus and SIU School of Medicine campus, the SIUE School of Nursing is helping to solve the region’s shortage of baccalaureate-prepared nurses and enhance the quality of nursing practice within hospitals and medical centers. 

School of Dental Medicine: The SIU School of Dental Medicine students manage approximately 35,000 patient visits each year at its patient clinics in Alton and East St. Louis. In addition, students offer oral health treatment, screenings and education to more than 10,000 people annually through a wide variety of off-campus community outreach events. These opportunities provide students the training they need to graduate and become highly skilled dentists. The School of Dental Medicine is a vital oral health care provider for residents of southern and central Illinois, and the St. Louis metropolitan region.

Photo:

Three students in the SIUE Healthcare Diversity Summer Camp work with a garment designed to simulate a stage of pregnancy. Shown from left to right are Alexis Hudspeth, of Lutheran North High School in St. Louis; Zuriah Harkins, of Belleville East High School in Belleville; and Jordan Robinson, of Hazelwood Central High School in St. Louis.