Camden high school students are getting hands-on pharmacy experience for N.J.’s first-of-its kind program
It is the latest effort by the South Jersey school system to promote Career Technical Education by providing students with academic and technical skills and training in a future career.
Shortly before the Bell Rexall Pharmacy opened for business in Camden’s Parkside neighborhood, a group of students from the nearby Charles Brimm Medical Arts High School arrived for their lesson.
The eight seniors are enrolled in a new program — believed to be the only one in the state for high school students — that provides hands-on experience with pharmacology. They will have a chance to become pharmacy technicians when they graduate in June.
It is the latest effort by the South Jersey school system to promote career and technical education by providing students with academic and technical skills and training for a career. Some may pursue college, while others will join the workforce after high school.
“We’re giving our kids hands-on instruction,” said Tom Levy, who runs the district’s career and technical program. “They’re graduating with skills.”
Brimm launched the program in September with about 16 students, Levy said. A Camden County College professor gave in-class instruction for a semester that wrapped up in February, he said. Typically, the class is taught at the college level, he said.
The students took various health-care classes their freshman, sophomore and junior years to learn medical terminology, nutrition, and anatomy and physiology. Brimm, a magnet high school, focuses on exposing and preparing students for careers in medicine, dentistry, nursing, and allied health professions.
After completing the class work, students were sent to Cooper University Hospital, where they trained in the pharmacy for several weeks, giving them additional exposure to how different pharmacies operate. Their assignment at Bell Rexall Pharmacy began in March and will run through May.
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The students report to Bell three times a week in groups of four. They get dropped off at the corner pharmacy on Haddon Avenue at a bustling intersection shortly before opening at 9 a.m.
On Wednesday, dressed in colorful scrubs, students Ariel McNeil, Raheem Smith, Johnathan Ramos and Christian Watson jumped into action. They unpacked and sorted prescription deliveries that arrived overnight, retrieved messages left by customers, and picked up orders sent by fax.
“I see it as exciting,” said Watson, 17. “This is a new opportunity. Why not take it?”
The students are supervised by Allen Morton, one of several pharmacists on duty, so every step is reviewed for accuracy. They fill prescriptions manually, carefully counting what is dispensed, or use a state-of-the-art automated Parata machine that spits out pills in rapid fashion.
Morton said he teaches the students the workflow routine, which they would follow in any retail pharmacy. He also shows them how to work the counter and offer customers a personal touch.
“We’re productive every minute. I like this place a lot,” said Ramos, 18.
McNeil, 17, carefully checked the inventory in the automated machine. Some of the slots can hold 1,000 pills. She made sure each was labeled with the correct content.
“I wanted to dive into something else,” said McNeil, who is considering studying health and science at Rowan University. “Instead of learning everything in a textbook, you get hands-on experience.”
Smith, 18, said taking the pharmacy classes helped him figure out his future. He believes it is a spiritual calling.
“When I started learning, I knew I could do it,” said Smith. “This is going to be a great fit.”
Watson, who plans to attend college and pursue dreams of becoming an actuary, said he would likely get a job as a pharmacy technician to help pay his expenses.
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Anthony V. Minniti, owner, vice president of business development at Bell, and a second-generation pharmacist, welcomed the chance to train students at the pharmacy, which has been in business since 1931. His family purchased the business in 1997.
Once licensed, the students will be able to work in settings such as neighborhood pharmacies like Bell, retail chains, hospitals and nursing homes. They can register with the state to become technicians after they graduate. A few already have job offers.
They’re going to be ready to work on Day 1,” Minniti said. “There’s a whole world that’s open to them.”
During the pandemic, the pharmacy was a hub in Camden, vaccinating thousands of school children and conducting testing for teachers and parents.
Back in its heyday, every Camden neighborhood had several pharmacies, according to Minniti. Residents went to the pharmacy for many of their health-care needs, not solely to have prescriptions filled, he said. Today, only a handful of neighborhood pharmacies remain in the nine-square-mile city.
“The pharmacy was the hub of everything health care,” Minniti said. “People want that specialized care.”