Shiloh's MED Club
(Pictured from Left Back Row: Christian Miller, Jonathan Kearney, Sarah Dilatush, Shea Sandefur, Karlie Ramsey, Rachel Schneider, Rachel Brooks, Ally Douglas, Alex Bottorff, Gavin Litchford, Madeline DeWitt, Autumn Kennedy, Madi Demers, Rachel Thomas, Emily Tollett, Madison Sparks, Kacey Haws, Lauren Claytor, Aubrey Ludwig Not Pictured: Grace Bowerman & Claire Odell)
MED CLUB
Shiloh students have the opportunity to hear dynamic speakers in the medical field, visit local therapy and rehabilitation facilities, and shadow local doctors and medical professionals as a part of the MED Club. This program is offered to students who are in 9th through 12th grade and have an interest in entering the medical field. This year MED Club students have already had the opportunity to hear valuable presentations from local leaders in the field of medicine including Sean Slaba, Cardiac Perfusionist at Mercy Hospital in Rogers, and Dr. Anthony Williams, Director of Hospital Medicine at Washington Regional Hospital. Sophomore and Junior MED club members have shadowed in local offices including Washington Regional Acute Care, Walnut Grove Nursing and Rehab, Spine Sports Rehab, and Thera Play Pediatrics. The Freshman class members went on their first outing to visit Dr. Sewell, a Springdale Chiropractor.
The students who are in the 9th grade through the 11th grade participate in the field trips and speaker presentations, and they are able to shadow at therapy/rehabilitation facilities and doctor’s offices, but job shadowing at local hospitals is only available to Seniors who are 18 years old.
Recently, two Shiloh seniors were able to spend a morning in the Emergency Department with Dr. Jackson at Washington Regional Hospital. Sarah Dilatush has been involved in the MED club since she was a freshman, and she has been certified in CPR and has been involved in local service projects in places like the Ronald McDonald House at Washington Regional as a part of the MED club. She shared that what has made the biggest impact on her interest in the medical field was the time she spent with Dr. Jackson in the E.R. She was surprised by how involved she got to be in the work Dr. Jackson was doing. She learned how the E.R. receives and prioritizes emergency patients, how they deal with unique situations and administer special medications, and she learned about the role that EMT’s and other medical professionals play in the emergency department. Sarah says that this experience showed her “the real and less glamorous and fictitious version of the ER that televisions shows depict.”
Madi Demers has always had an interest in the medical field. Her mom was a nurse in the ER for many years, so shadowing Dr. Jackson was a major highlight for her. She also expressed how incredible it was to be involved with all of the workings of a fast-paced emergency department. She was considering a career in Anesthesiology, but the hands-on experience she was afforded while she was listening to lungs, feeling lymph nodes, and assisting a seasoned E.R. doctor confirmed her desire to become an ER doctor herself.
The MED club gives students the opportunity to gain valuable insight and experience when they are considered a profession in the medical field. For more information about this program contact Debbie Diehm: debbied@shilohsaints.org.