Glenview Native Providing Medical Students With Valuable Experience

GLENVIEW, IL — A local heart specialist isn’t just making a difference in the lives of his Northwestern Medicine patients, but the Glenview resident is also giving medical students the chance to get first-hand experience even before they graduate college.

Micah Eimer, a cardiologist and medical director for Northwestern Medicine’s Glenview, Evanston, and Deerfield Outpatient Centers, has helped turn a summer internship program into a destination for college students in need of on-the-job training.

As part of the program, students from around the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico are assigned a clinical department where they work and report to a physician as well as a program administrator. Once a week, they rotate to observe a different specialty as part of the unique learning opportunity.

“We strive to provide a blend of both academic work and observation, and we are pleased to offer these dedicated students who have already shown a passion for medicine an 8-week, paid opportunity to work with some of the leading experts in medicine,” Eimer, a Glenview native, said in a news release.

“What I’m realizing now is how impactful it also is for the physicians, who are provided a moment to step back from their packed schedules and work demands, and take some time to provide individual guidance and inspiration to a younger adult who has shown a passion for the study of medicine.”

Students from 21 schools were accepted into the internship program, which has grown threefold since it was started. However, due to the surge of applicants who wanted to participate, only 4 percent of applicants were accepted into the internship.

In addition to the direct work experience the students receive, the program also provides a weekly lecture series. The students recently met and had lunch with John Bluford from South Carolina, who spoke about his lessons learned as a health system CEO and provided advice on leadership and equity, officials said.

As of this year, 143 pre-med students have completed the program, with many now in medical school. The current class has 51 students, who have the opportunity to shadow and learn from more than 45 leading physicians at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, in the northern suburbs at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital and the Northwestern Medicine Outpatient Centers in Glenview and Gurnee; Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital in Palos Heights and Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield.

Jyoti Patel, MD, oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, has enjoyed mentoring Shreyas Menon, a rising junior at Northwestern University, and Mason Hewlett, a rising junior at the University of Kentucky.

“Mentoring Shreyas and Mason has offered me an opportunity to not only teach what I have learned, but it has given me a new appreciation for what I do,” Patel said. “The program is excellent and so rejuvenating to me personally. Seeing the students' curiosity and wonder at the intersection of patient care and science reminds us why we love our profession so much."

More information about the internship program may be found here.