Alyse Mikolas '14 shadows her mother, Sandra, a nurse practitioner, at Aurora Health Center in Ke...
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Six-week rotation offers glimpses into daily work
of professionals at Aurora Health Care facilities

This summer, six Carthage students will enjoy a sampler platter of health care occupations thanks to a unique new shadowing program the College has established with Aurora Health Care.

The students will spend six weeks shadowing professionals in a variety of specialties at Aurora’s facilities on Highway 50 and potentially other sites. Each week, students will rotate to observe workers in pediatrics, radiology, physical therapy, orthopedics, a walk-in clinic, and a pharmacy.

Sandra Mikolas, a nurse practitioner at Aurora, approached Biology Department chair Patrick Pfaffle with the idea for the program. It stems from conversations she had with friends of her daughter Alyse ’14 who were broadly interested in pursuing health care careers but couldn’t decide on a specific track. Biology professor Patrick Pfaffle

“This might help students to make that decision a little easier,” she said.

Several of them asked specifically to shadow Mrs. Mikolas, both to learn more about the work of a nurse practitioner and to fulfill the shadowing requirements for many health care degree programs. The new Carthage program formalizes the process, she said.

Alyse, a biology major from Kenosha, knows firsthand the value of shadowing. After sampling the daily routines of health care workers in numerous settings, she settled on a plan to pursue dental school after graduation.

“Being able to go to multiple places helped me realize the different things the many professions had to offer and allowed me to develop a more concrete idea of what path I wanted to follow after Carthage,” said Alyse, who continues to shadow an oral surgeon.

As a clinical preceptor, Sandra Mikolas has 15 years of experience overseeing nurse practitioner students. She said this is the first shadowing program Aurora has established for undergraduate students to follow professionals in multiple disciplines.

Prof. Pfaffle finds it flattering that she thought of Carthage first. He believes the long-term growth potential of health-care fields is a large factor in the growth of the biology program at the College. Between students who have declared biology majors and incoming freshmen who are leaning that way, interest has grown by more than 45 percent over the past five years.

Carthage’s pre-health program provides a thorough, integrated curriculum designed to help future health professionals adapt to the constant changes in their fields. Besides biology, students in the program typically choose to major in chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, or Exercise and Sport Science.

“Not everyone who is pre-health has to go to medical school,” Prof. Pfaffle said, mentioning alternative degree programs for physician assistants or pharmacists. “By having these shadowing experiences, they’ll see some of the other options they have.”

The shadowing program is expected to begin in June or July. Prof. Pfaffle hopes to expand it to 12 students in the future, and to offer a condensed version of it during J-Term.

Interested students are required to apply for the program. Each applicant writes an essay and submits a faculty recommendation.

To be considered, students must have at least sophomore standing and a strong interest in health care careers. Prof. Pfaffle is confident that, by seeing medical personnel in action and asking them questions, students will be able to gauge their interest in each area.

“What they think it’s like and what it’s really like aren’t always the same thing,” he said. “That’s what college is all about: finding what you want to do.”

This year’s participants are:

  • Amy Bruckbauer ’14, a neuroscience and biology major from Wauwatosa, Wis.
  • Keri Dennison ’15, a biology major from Kenosha
  • Darien Jefferson ’14, a neuroscience and biology major from Wauwatosa, Wis.
  • Johnny Kirk ’15, a biology major from Schaumburg, Ill.
  • Max Machurick ’15, a biology major from Kaukauna, Wis.
  • Ben Massat ’16, a biology major from Buffalo Grove, Wis.