Campbell offers program to recruit minority students to pharmacy

     Buies Creek -- Campbell University’s School of Pharmacy is holding its second annual Pharmacy Readiness and Enrichment Program (PREP) summer camp Saturday, May 19 through Saturday, May 26, 2007.

     The PREP program is designed to prepare motivated underrepresented minority students for entrance into the School of Pharmacy and make them aware of the many career opportunities available in the pharmaceutical industry.

     The weeklong camp, held on the main campus of Campbell University, involves extensive preparation for the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT), review of verbal, written and critical thinking exercises, and instruction of higher level sciences. Participating students are also exposed to members of the CUSOP faculty as well as professionals in various fields of pharmacy.

     Students face a diagnostic exam at the beginning of the week and then a final exam at the end of the week to put their new study skills into practice. After the camp is over, students may continue their PCAT preparation through an online study guide program for up to nine months.

     Gabrielle Morgan, director of Student Services and Admissions in the School of Pharmacy, says the camp’s interview skills workshop helps prepare students for the admissions process.

     “The goal of our interview process here at Campbell is to get to know the student and to find out that pharmacy is really what they want to do with their career,” said Morgan.

     Thirty-nine students are participating in this year’s PREP summer camp. The School of Pharmacy is responsible for all associated costs. Students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and have completed at least 40 semester hours of class credit, excelling in science courses like Chemistry, Physics and Biology.

     Dean Ronald Maddox said the PREP program is a great way for Campbell University’s School of Pharmacy to help meet the healthcare needs of the changing population in our state.

     “The Campbell University School of Pharmacy is committed to having a representative diversity in its student population and to prepare these graduates to be providers of culturally sensitive and appropriate health care in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry,” said Maddox. “To accomplish this goal the School has developed a series of curricular and program innovations designed to address the problem of the dire shortage of underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in pharmacy, pharmaceutical science, and clinical research in North Carolina.”

     Of the 35 participants during last year’s PREP camp, 63% applied to graduate and professional schools. Forty-seven percent of those students gained admission to the school to which they applied.

     Campbell’s PREP program was started last year through a state grant. The Campbell University School of Pharmacy has partnered with Central Carolina Community College, Fayetteville State University, Shaw University, Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina Central University and UNC Pembroke to reach qualified minority students.

     The PREP initiative has had a positive impact on the number of minority students admitted to the Campbell University’s School of Pharmacy. This year, minority students represented 27% of those admitted to the CUSOP’s PharmD program, compared to 12% of last year’s class.

     Photo Copy: Participants in the 2006 PREP summer camp at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC.