Pre-Health Sciences

North Central College is committed to offering students interested in the health care field a full offering of academics, research opportunities, field experiences and placement assistance. Students select a major of their choosing and with the help of a pre-health advisor, complete all prerequisites required for admission to their chosen professional program. North Central College's strong liberal arts education prepares students to compete and succeed in a variety of professional health programs.

Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams to address North Central College Commencement

Aaron Williams, director of the Peace Corps, will deliver the address June 9 at the 147th Commencement ceremony of North Central College.

Three-part Human Rights Symposium kicks off April 9

Senior laboratory analyst for Clinton Health Access Initiative in Kenya to give talk on “Fighting HIV/AIDS by Bringing New Technologies Closer to Patients.”

Student who aspires to become a mission doctor recounts visit to Haiti

Sophomore psychology major Joshua Male was featured in the SouthtownStar newspaper, which recounted his recent experience in Haiti.

more news

Internships

Research intern, Edward Hospital, Naperville
Research intern, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA
Research intern, Loyola University Medical School, Maywood, IL

Graduate and Professional Schools

Recent health science students have been accepted at:

Midwestern (Doctor of Osteopathy)
Loyola University of Chicago (Medical School)
University of Illinois at Chicago (Dental School)
University of Illinois (Veterinary)
Midwestern (Pharmacy)

Careers

Recent health science students include:

OB/GYN medical assistant, Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Elk Grove Village, IL
Registered nurse in oncology, Loyola University Medical

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John Ladeur

Occupational Therapy

John Ladeur knew he wanted to pursue a career in healthcare but wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to do. After working as a certified nursing assistant and a phlebotomy lab assistant, John eventually found his fit in occupational therapy.

John, who transferred from a community college, chose to earn his bachelor’s degree at North Central rather than a bigger school. “I prefer small classes and seeing professors on a regular basis during office hours,” John says. “I love the campus. North Central also has a good reputation in the sciences, and everyone I’ve met along the way has been very personable.”

John also appreciates opportunities for volunteering at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, where he shadows occupational therapists.

Upon graduation, John plans to attend graduate school. He’s received academic and career advice from North Central’s pre-professional health program coordinator Marguerite Degenhardt. “Her advice has given me a lot of insight,” John says. “I’ve learned what schools look for, programs they offer, and health science graduate school credential evaluations I need to accomplish to put myself in a better position for grad school.

“It’s helpful to have people to talk to,” he says. “Their advice makes things seamless in terms of what to do after graduation.”

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Dr. Rob Hoffert

Optometrist

Dr. Rob Hoffert graduated from North Central College with a degree in biology. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in visual sciences and a doctorate of optometry from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He’s an optometrist with the Brenart Eye Clinic in Yorkville, where he worked part time as a lab technician throughout college. While at North Central, Rob and four other students in the Pre-Health Organization attended the American Psychiatric Conference in San Francisco.

“North Central was great because of its small class sizes,” Rob says. “I connected with many of the professors.” Two professors wrote him recommendation letters for graduate schools.

“Graduate schools really like applicants with liberal arts degrees,” he says. “They want a well-rounded candidate who is diversified in many different areas. Something has to set you apart from the thousands of other applicants. A lot of the larger schools put students on a fast-track through pre-med, where competition usually ensues and all of their classes are in the same area. To become a doctor, you must not only be good in the sciences, but you must also be good dealing with people. A liberal arts college like North Central gets you both.”

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Erin McElheny

Physical Therapist

Erin McElheny earned her bachelor’s degree at North Central College and completed her doctor of physical therapy (D.P.T.) degree at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, IL. She’s a physical therapist at TheraCORE in Lockport.

As an undergraduate at North Central, Erin learned the importance of good communication skills.

“Having those skills gave me an edge when it came to the interview process for physical therapy school,” Erin says. “Establishing rapport with people is a skill that someone working in the healthcare industry should master.”

During her senior year at North Central, Erin worked in physical therapy clinics and completed independent study courses that met prerequisites for admission to graduate school.

“The classes in North Central’s curriculum really prepared me for the classes I took in graduate school,” she says. “The smaller class sizes at North Central allowed me to get to know my professors and my classmates.”

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Ben Youel

Graduate Student in Dentistry

Like many students, Ben didn’t realize how well North Central College had prepared him for his career until he graduated. When he arrived at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Dentistry to work toward his DDS degree, he quickly discovered that many of his peers had no experience conducting the type of research he had completed at North Central. One classmate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was stunned by Ben’s experience. “He clearly never imagined that a school of just a couple thousand students would turn out science majors with legitimate research experience,” Ben says.

“That exchange made me proud of my North Central background. I enjoyed surprising that classmate. I’m grateful for the opportunities, challenges, great instruction, outstanding people and overall experience that I had at North Central.”

Named North Central’s 2009 Outstanding Major in Chemistry and an Academic All-American, Ben received a prestigious NCAA post-graduate scholarship.

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Chris Allen

Pharmacy

Chris Allen has set his sights on a career in pharmacy and knows that North Central College is providing him with a great learning environment and opportunities to prepare for his future.

“It’s a small school,” Chris says. “I figured I would do best here because I would be able to interact with professors.”

During his junior year Chris gained hands-on experience at Naperville’s Martin Avenue Pharmacy, one of the few remaining compounding pharmacies, where pharmacists make custom medications for patrons on-site.

During the summer between his sophomore and junior years, Chris volunteered to assist chemistry professor Jeff Bjorklund with research that was presented at the College’s Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research.

Chris also served as treasurer for the Black Student Association, the Pre-Health Organization and Chemistry Club. He spends summers with North Central’s Premier Scholars program as a Premier Team Leader.

“All the experiences I’ve had are helping me transition into my career,” Chris says.

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Rachel Craghead

Pre-Nursing

As a student, Rachel Craghead had no trouble balancing academics with campus involvement, volunteerism and other pursuits. In addition to excelling in North Central College’s rigorous psychology curriculum, Rachel held leadership positions with the College’s orientation staff, Uncommon Life Movement and Blue Key Honor Society.

Rachel paired her passion for service with the opportunity to gain experience in the medical field during D-Term her senior year.

“I set up a trip to Haiti through Mission of Hope,” Rachel says. “I knew I wanted to work in the medical field, and this trip allowed me to gain valuable experiences.” While in Haiti, she shadowed medical professionals, including nurses, doctors and emergency medical technicians. She also gained hands-on medical experience in a clinic.

Following graduation, Rachel is attending Rush University’s Generalist Entry Master’s program in nursing. She received advice from North Central’s pre-professional health program coordinator Marguerite Degenhardt, a former assistant professor at Rush. “Dr. Degenhardt has been a great resource in helping me apply to Rush,” Rachel says. “It also helps that North Central has an affiliation with Rush.”

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Alicia Carlson

Physician Assistant

Alicia Carlson works as a physician assistant for Dr. Jesse Butler’s practice, Spine Consultants LLC, based in Park Ridge, IL. She earned her bachelor’s degree in athletic training at North Central, then graduated from Midwestern University with a master’s degree in physician assistant studies.

Alicia says. “A liberal arts degree tends to give a more well-rounded educational experience. I truly believe that schools seriously look at those intricate details and differences.”

As a physician assistant, Alicia first-assists Dr. Butler in surgery, schedules all surgeries and procedures, coordinates post-operative care of the patients while in the hospital, sees patients in conjunction with Dr. Butler and independently when he is out of town, performs in-office procedures and injections, and writes orders and prescriptions and refills requests for patients. She has close correspondence with physical therapists, pain management specialists and primary care physicians to aide in the best patient care.

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Britni Miller

Graduate Student of Veterinary Medicine

When Britni Miller was considering veterinary schools, she noticed they gave “great consideration” to her application showing her as a North Central College graduate. “They know that we have a high quality education and have invested the time, effort and work that is required to succeed in medical school,” she says.

Britni says the opportunity to conduct research at North Central “gave me great experience for applying to veterinary school, and I have since used the knowledge and skills I gained from my research experience in my veterinary internships.”

Her decision to major in biology prepared her for entry into the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, she says.

“A lot of prospective students who plan on attending veterinary school question whether they should major in animal science or biology,” Britni says. “After my experience, I would recommend majoring in biology. By doing so, you gain a strong biological knowledge, which is the foundation of medicine.”

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Allison Beckham

Biology major

Currently a medical student at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Allison discovered her passion for medicine while studying biology and chemistry at North Central. Here she conducted academic research with faculty members and presented her work at national conferences. She also volunteered for community service projects, served as president of an honors society chapter and mentored fellow students as a lab assistant and preceptor.

“You can walk into North Central professors’ offices and chat with them about their weekend or ask about your homework,” she says. “The faculty are very friendly. In fact, when I came for my Presidential Scholarship interview as a freshman, Dr. (Stephen) Johnston let me play around in his lab. That was really cool.”

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