A Matter of the Heart
By: Victoria Gaikwad
Have you ever wanted to live your dream job but without all the responsibilities? Some of us wanted to be ballerinas or the next winner of American Idol, Senior Megan Jehlicka wanted to be a pediatrician from a young age. With the internship program that the high school now offers, she is able to get a hands on learning experience at Saint Francis.
She is currently a part of the pediatric cardiology practice where she gets to learn how to check a patient’s heart and vitals, which will help her get a good foundation in what she wants to pursue later in life. Although most hospitals would not take a 17-year-old intern, her personal pediatrician took her in to show her the ropes. Being able to shadow her own doctor brings comfort as well as excitement to Megan’s mornings. She knows the typical procedures that go on considering that she, herself, is a patient.
“Having the opportunity to go explore whatever field we wanted to, is what caught my eye,” says Jehlicka, “I am really interested in the medical field, and knew I would love to be able to go to a hospital to intern there.”
While there are a variety of internships available, she chose one that was a little more close to home. She wanted to see what it was like to treat someone rather than being treated. She was born with atrioventricular block or AV block for short, which is a type of heart block in which the area between the atria and ventricles are impaired. This is what sets the steady pace for the heart.
Even though she was diagnosed with this problem, she didn’t let it become an excuse. She runs cross country and on season track, and is putting herself out there to help those who are in her place.
“When little kids come in and hear that the have to get a pacemaker, they obviously get scared just like I did,” says Jehlicka, “But being able to tell them that I have one too, I can see that they feel so much better and can connect with them on a deeper level.”
Internships are such a good opportunity to really hone into your future and figure out early on if what you want to do is for you.
