This year’s Health Sciences Day at the UConn School of Pharmacy brought together high school students from East Lyme, RHAM, and Waterbury high schools. They engaged with UConn faculty members (Ms. Laura Nolan and Drs. C. Michael White, Robin Bogner, Jennifer Girotto, and Nathaniel Rickles), a CVS pharmacist/UConn Alum ‘93 (Dr. Galushko), and a P4 Pharmacy Student (Ms. White) in three hands-on activities.

First, they navigated a cardiac arrest on our simulation manikin where they had to recognize the rhythm, give chest compressions and mask valve artificial breathing, and then select, draw up and administer the correct doses of drugs in between defibrillator shocks. Next, they moved to the compounding laboratory where they were able to create brand new dosage forms. This is something that pharmacists do for patients who cannot tolerate the normal doses of medications, cannot swallow pills, or require a cream that does not exist commercially. Finally, they learned how to draw up medications like vaccines, insulin, and weight loss drugs into syringes, expel the air bubbles, and administer them properly in muscle or the subcutaneous fat of the arms or belly.

This was followed by a luncheon with pizza, a brief presentation on careers in pharmacy ranging from community, hospital, nuclear, pharmaceutical industry, and managed care settings, and then informal discussions about the day’s events. Students loved intermingling with those from other schools, seeing the UConn campus, and applying what they learned in their UConn ECE courses to real world scenarios, but in a simulated environment.

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