Summer camp

Students say “yes” to drug awareness

While some kids slouched away summer days in boredom, eyes glazed from too many hours in front of the television, high school students and undergrads at WVSOM’s “Just say KNOW to drugs!” pharmacology camp learned important lessons about how drugs interact with the body – to heal or to harm.

The camp ran July 15 – July 19. Day one got off to a rousing start with the “Build a Body” activity. Participants constructed a replica of the human body out of red and blue streamers (representing the circulatory system, of course) along with other items gleaned from store shelves. “John Doe’s” head was a shopping bag, lungs were balloons and he had bubble wrap for intestines. His heart? Unlike the Tin Man’s timepiece, John Doe sported a Chinese lantern for this critical internal organ.

Each day began with a lecture, followed by hands-on activities. Lecture topics included “Antibiotics,” “Pain and Pain Medications” and “Drugs of Abuse.” Throughout the week, participants enjoyed exposure to a variety of faculty research labs and OPP labs to increase their understanding of related science and medicine.

During one camp activity, the students matched “Bugs & Drugs,” swabbing surfaces and growing bacteria in Petri dishes, which were tested with different drugs. Another day, students engaged in an experiment with “Daphnia,” a genus of small crustaceans or “water fleas” which can be used to test the effects of toxins on an ecosystem.

“The students were working with unknown drugs and paying attention to changes in heart rate,” said Raeann Carrier, Ph.D., assistant professor, pharmacology, and organizer of the camp. One highlight of the campers’ experience was an activity employing “Sim Man,” one of WVSOM’s patient simulators, to demonstrate the effect alcohol has on the body. In a separate-but-related lesson on medical ethics and social impact, the students researched and discussed the merits and demerits of medical marijuana, an issue facing a number of state legislatures in recent years.

All of this hard work – and fun, there was a lot of fun – was recognized during the Parents’ Showcase when students were able to display what they had learned.

“One of the great things about this week was watching how the students mentored each other,” Carrier said. “Most of the lectures and activities were led by WVSOM second-year students, Dustin Smyth and Mary DeMino. They offered guidance and instruction to our undergrad participants who, in turn, mentored the rising high school seniors. It was a trickle-down effect that seemed to meet individual needs perfectly.”

At the end of the week, all participants professed to have attained significantly more knowledge about how drugs get into, around and out of the body. Carrier hopes the positive word-of-mouth will bring even more campers next year who will “just say yes” to a week of fun with pharmacology.