KINGSVILLE, Texas — Before graduation, high school students begin searching for a college or university. But what if the school came searching for them?
Texas A&M College of Medicine, The Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy and Texas A&M University-Kingsville invited over 300 rural high school students to the first ever Regional Med Camp to show them a glimpse of what their future could look like.
20 rural school districts across the Coastal Bend selected students, some in medical career pathways, to get a sneak peek at a prescription for better health care access.
Students participated in break-out sessions that college-level pharmacy students take part in, such as learning how to vaccinate, ticks and tickborne pathogens.
“Specifically rural medicine in rural pharmacy and serving the rural communities in the Coastal Bend with their profession,” TAMUK Dean of Students Kirsten Compary said.
The camp was meant to inspire students like Emily Rivadeneyra and Olivia Garza, both juniors at Alice High School that plan to go to medical school one day.
“Some of us are just less fortunate to be able to go take those trips and this one was to no cost to us as well, so it’s a great opportunity to take advantage of,” Rivadeneyra said.
Students also got to hear from keynote speaker Dr. Chris Diem with Texas A&M College of Medicine, as well as a career panel discussion.
Dr. Asim Abu-Baker, Associate Dean for Clinical and Professional Affairs at Texas A&M, said there is always a need for pharmacists, especially in rural communities where the closest doctor or hospital might be miles and miles away. That’s why pharmacists have to know several skills, like how to vaccinate.
“There’s pharmacies almost in every corner and county in the state, so it’s a really important profession,” Dr. Abu-Baker said.
Rivadeneyra said growing up in a small town, she also sees the importance of pharmacists.
“They always utilize our H-E-B’s, our CVS and they just know the pharmacist there and know they can rely on them for whatever they need because of how small the community is and how tight we have to be,” Rivadeneyra said.
And after graduation, students don’t have to go far to share their skills. They can continue with Texas A&M right here in their very own rural community.
“It’s just opening doors for students to explore how they might be able to fit with us with the career path they want,” Compary said.
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