Carl Sandburg High School Medical Club students recently spent time learning about vaccines and even had an opportunity to practice how to give injections. Throughout the year, club members engage with real-world professionals, get real-life experience, learn about job opportunities in the medical field, and explore current opportunities for credentials.
Part of the Consolidated High School District 230’s Strategic Framework calls for connecting students to specific courses, co-curricular programs, and service learning opportunities based on career interests, passions, and talents, as well as implementing performance-based learning experiences to enhance real-world skills for students. Sandburg’s Medical Club checks both those boxes and more.
Medical Club members take part in state-level testing, which may allow them to directly admit into a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program after high school. “The experience they gain throughout their time in the club puts them lightyears ahead of other students,” said club sponsor Romana Kovacevic.
Three sophomore students at the recent Medical Club meeting, who are all interested in pursuing careers as doctors, were practicing injections into silicone skin pads, ensuring they followed proper safety protocols and techniques as instructed by two Trinity Christian College nursing staff. They all agreed that Med Club would give them an edge when applying to schools and help them embark into the field.
The club meets three times a month and students interested in nursing will practice how to give injections and learn first aid care and one-on-one patient care. Others interested in a career as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) are receiving CPR training from the Palos Fire Department. The club is also working on a pharmacy technician path, where students would work in a pharmacy and receive clinical hours.
Kovacevic is an English teacher who took over as sponsor of the club during COVID-19 as a favor to the previous sponsor who was unable to serve as a sponsor. Kovacevic’s own daughter is in the process of applying to medical schools and has seen the disadvantage her daughter is in when classmates who had more hands-on experience as a high school student receive faster admission. Kovacevic said sponsoring the Medical Club is her way to give Sandburg students the advantage her daughter didn’t have.
