The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is now accepting applications for its summer programs designed to introduce high school students to the wide variety of health care careers.
UAMS’ Medical Applications of Science for Health (MASH) program is a free educational day camp being offered across the state. Participants will learn about a range of health care professions through hands-on activities, facility tours and interactions with health care practitioners.
Held this summer, MASH camps generally run for two weeks, though some locations will offer a mini-MASH version that offers sessions condensed into a single week. Camp dates and application deadlines vary based on location. For more information and to apply for these summer programs, go to uams.info/mashcamps.
“MASH is an incredible learning experience for high school students all across Arkansas,” said Ursula Redmond, education coordinator for UAMS Regional Campuses. “It offers a unique, up-close perspective of what it’s like to work in the health care industry. The ultimate goal of these camps is to help students decide to go into the medical field, and over the years, I think they’ve done a really good job of that.”
To be eligible to attend a MASH camp, students must be entering 11th or 12th grade and have completed at least one biology class.
MASH camps will be held at UAMS Regional Campuses or at local hospitals or colleges in 23 cities across the state:
- Arkadelphia
- Blytheville
- Clinton
- Conway
- Crittenden
- Crossett
- DeWitt
- Dumas
- El Dorado
- Fayetteville
- Fort Smith
- Harrison
- Helena-West Helena
- Hot Springs
- Jonesboro
- Lake Village
- Malvern
- Mena
- Monticello
- Paragould
- Pine Bluff
- Rogers
- Texarkana
There will also be a Community Health Applied in Medical Public Service (CHAMPS) camp held in Crossett. CHAMPS sessions are similar to MASH camps but are generally three to five days long and geared towards students entering 9th or 10th grade.
The MASH program is made possible thanks to a partnership with Arkansas Farm Bureau. In 2023, Arkansas Farm Bureau pledged a gift of $500,000 over five years to create the Farm Bureau Fund for Excellence, which will support health career recruitment efforts.
Last year, nearly 350 Arkansas high school students attended one of 27 different MASH events around the state.
The MASH concept was first piloted in 1988 by the UAMS South Central Regional Campus in Pine Bluff. Heading into its 37th year, MASH events have introduced more than 10,000 Arkansas students to health care careers.
The MASH program is a collaboration by local, state and federal organizations, including the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Partnerships with area hospitals across the state are also an important part of the program.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight 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, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation.
UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,485 students, 915 medical residents and fellows, and seven dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health.
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