At CVS Camp Apple, 29 high school students are being taken on a fast-paced, hands-on, weeklong educational experience into the growing career opportunities for health care professionals. The camp is being held Aug. 10 - 14 in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (EACPHS) at Wayne State University.

CVS Camp Apple is a partnership between CVS America's Promise Pathways to Pharmacy and EACPHS.

In the final week of the CVS youth program, students from five southeast Michigan high schools will follow a hypothetical patient from diagnosis of a life-threatening disease through treatment to end-of-life stages. Leading the students on the CVS Camp Apple career experience are faculty members from the EACPHS programs of physician assistant studies, clinical laboratory science, pharmacy, radiologic technology, physical therapy, nurse anesthesia, anatomic pathologists' assistant and mortuary science.

"The experience is intended to increase awareness of health science careers beyond the traditionally popular and well-known professions of nursing and medicine," said Mary K. Clark, assistant dean for student and alumni affairs at EACPHS. "There is a growing demand for professionals in the health sciences, such as the careers explored at our CVS Camp Apple."

In addition to learning the responsibilities of the health science professions, students will work on teams and prepare a presentation on their collective camp experience. Each team will create a multimedia presentation on the value and benefit of a career in the health sciences. Workshops will provide information on preparing for a career in the health sciences, how to maximize academic advising appointments and accessing financial aid.

"These students are 11th and 12th graders who are considering and preparing for their career choices following high school graduation. We want to give them the tools to make the best choices and hopefully pursue careers in the health sciences professions, preferably in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, which is one of the best health care science programs in the country," Clark said.

Prior to attending CVS Camp Apple, the students wrapped up a five- week summer internship at various CVS/pharmacy stores in their communities. The experience exposed students to the retail pharmacy professions and broadens their personal and professional development.The students are from Cass Technical High School, Crockett Career and Technical Center, and Renaissance High School in Detroit; Fitzgerald High School in Warren; and Port Huron and Port Huron Northern High Schools in Port Huron.

For information on the programs offered through the Office of Student and Alumni Affairs to assist students in learning about the academic health science programs offered through EACPHS, please contact the college at (313) 577-1716 or e-mail: cphsinfo@wayne.edu.

Click here for a photo essay of the week-long CVS Camp Apple.

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The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, a founding college of Wayne State University, is committed to advancing the health and well-being of society through the preparation of highly skilled health care practitioners, and through research to improve health care practices and treatment from the urban to global levels.

Wayne State University is a world class institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs.

Contact: Cheryl Yurkovich
Voice: (313) 577-8096
E-mail: cyurkovich@wayne.edu

Media Contact: Kathleen J. Karas, APR
Voice: (313) 577-2312
E-mail: kkaras@wayne.edu