Campus News

Students Get Head Start On Health Careers At UK Summer Camp

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 2, 2011) - Over the summer, while many high school students were taking vacations and enjoying school-free days, 49 high school students from across Kentucky spent time on the University of Kentucky campus getting a head start on potential careers in health care.

This was the seventh year for the Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) and Health Researchers Youth Academy (HRYA), hosted by UK's Area Health Education Center (AHEC). The programs are designed to help students enrich their knowledge of health and health care options, giving them hands on experience in a college setting to help prepare them for a future in health care.

"This is an opportunity that is unique in that it brings students together from across the state who are interested in health care, giving them the opportunity of a lifetime," said Chris Johnson, asociate aministrator for UK's AHEC program.

This year, more than 200 applied to participate in the camps. The 49 students chosen represented all eight AHEC regions across the state.

SEP campers heard presentations from faculty and staff from each of UK's health colleges and from health care practitioners from across the region, all designed to enrich their knowledge of health care options.  Campers also participated in weekly clinical shadowing rotations with practicing health care professionals from many areas including surgery, optometry, physical therapy, dentistry and pediatric medicine. During this time, students also took courses in chemistry, biology and mathematics designed to build upon the concepts they were already taught in high school, giving them an advantage in those areas when they returned to their home schools.

HRYA campers focused on health science research while taking a course in physiology. This group also attended a series of lectures with various research professionals from across the campus. In addition, HRYA campers developed and completed research posters presented to family and UK faculty.

"We expose the students who participate to the totality of health care options available to them, allowing them an opportunity to shadow practicing professionals and learn more about research and presentations - all while building on their academic foundations through the coursework they take," said Johnson.

"The Area Health Education Center’s statewide Health Careers pipeline is very important to us," Johnson added. "This is another example of demonstrating the commitment of the AHEC's across to producing a pipeline of future health care providers of which the entire Commonwealth can be proud - because we all know our state needs them."

The Summer Enrichment Program for rising juniors (current 10th graders) and Health Researchers Youth Academy for rising seniors (current 11th graders) summer camps are free to those chosen to participate. Free enrollment includes housing and meals.

For information on how to apply for next year's camps, contact Chris Johnson at chris.johnson@uky.edu.  

MEDIA CONTACT: Jodi Whitaker, (859) 257-5307; jodi.whitaker@uky.edu