UAMS accepting applications for summer health careers program

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest Regional Campus is now accepting applications from junior high and high school students who are interested in exploring careers in health care

Students who will be entering eighth, ninth or 10th grade are eligible for a oneweek intensive Community Health Applied in Medical Public Service (CHAMPS) program. Students who will be entering the 11th or 12th grade are eligible for a two-week, intensive Medical Applications of Science for Health (MASH) program. There is no cost for students accepted to the programs.

The CHAMPS program is June 8-12 on the UAMS Fayetteville campus. The deadline to apply is May 15. Applications for the CHAMPS program may be picked up in a junior or senior high school counselor’s office or online at regionalprograms.uams. edu/regional-campuses/ uams-northwest/recruit ment/c-h-a-m-p-s/.

The MASH program is June 15-26 on the UAMS Fayetteville campus and June 8-19 at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. The deadline to apply is March 13. Applications for the MASH program may be picked up in a senior high school counselor’s office or online at regional programs.uams.edu/ regional-campuses/ uams-northwest/recruit ment/mash/.

During the programs, students will participate in hands-on activities, including dissection, casting/suturing, CPR training and much more. MASH participants can also earn CPR certification. All students will visit with health professionals in family and internal medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, pediatrics, physical/occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, radiology, radiation therapy, and ophthalmology to learn more about these professions.

Additionally, students will visit Northwest Arkansas Community College, the University of Arkansas, and John Brown University to learn about college entrance requirements, support programs and the various pathways to a medical education and a health care career. All MASH participants are encouraged to participate in a graduation ceremony.

The CHAMPS and MASH programs have been made possible thanks to support from a partnership that includes UAMS Regional Campuses, Arkansas Farm Bureau and the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus.

“One of the missions of UAMS is to educate and train the next generation of health care providers,” said Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., vice chancellor for the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. “Obviously that includes all of the health sciences colleges that we have on our Fayetteville campus. And by exposing junior high and high school students to the many health care profession options that are available to them, we hope to inspire these young, bright minds to pursue a career in health care.”

For questions about the program, contact Ana Sanchez, UAMS Northwest Regional Campus pre-health professions recruiter, at 479-684-5177 or apsanchez@uams.edu.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise including its hospital, regional clinics and clinics it operates or staffs in cooperation with other providers. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com.