Forty high school students from around Arizona spent three days last week learning about health professions at a free summer camp.

The Arizona Health Science Center sponsored MEDCAMP for the fourth year July 16, 17, and 19.

The goal of the camp is to interest students in health careers, said Nancy Gutherie, associate director in the AHSC Office of Public Affairs.

"A lot of students think they want to go into medicine, but they only think in terms of physician or nurse," Gutherie said.

MEDCAMP gives campers information about health professions beyond pediatricians or nurses.

"It's great being able to go into places I wouldn't otherwise be able to see," said Tina Grant, a high school senior.

"We didn't want to restrict the camp to only the brightest students. We wanted interest," Gutherie said. "Our only criteria is that they have completed sophomore year, have a curious nature and an interest in health professions."

"It's awesome. I'm learning so much," said Hannah McClean, a high school junior who wants to study orthopedic medicine.

Each Arizona high school was allowed to nominate a male and a female student, Gutherie said. Twenty girls and 20 boys were then chosen by a lottery system.

Everything is free to the students once they arrive, Gutherie said.

The only monetary cost of camp is the housing expense, Gutherie said. It costs $4,000 to house, feed and supervise 40 students for three days in a residence hall.

About 150 employees donated their time to run the camp, Gutherie said, and they volunteered to teach and be shadowed by campers. Pharmacy, medical, and nursing students volunteered to mentor the campers, she said.

"Mentors have really been the key," Gutherie said. Each mentor is assigned to four or five students to attend activities with the students during camp.

"This has been a good chance for me to get involved and see the other side of medicine, the teaching side. Plus, I get a free T-shirt," said Christian Moher, mentor and second-year University of Arizona medical student.

This is the first year mentors received money for their efforts, Gutherie said. She said a surprise $100 honorarium was given to all seven of the mentors at the end of camp.

During the first day of camp, students went into the operating room and met all the people who run it - the surgery tech, surgeon, anesthesiologist; people they may not know are needed in an operating room, Gutherie said.

Campers participated the second day in a lotion lab run by David Lee, clinical instructor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. Gutherie said they made an anti-itch lotion. Campers also visited a genetics lab and mapped their genetic risk factors, she said.

On the third day, they played "the aging game," designed to simulate the effects of aging, Gutherie said. She said campers wore bands on their legs, to simulate restricted range of motion, and fogged goggles.