Exploring Medicine as a Career Choice

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Byline: Ann Piccininni Daily Herald Correspondent

Is a medical career in these teens' future?

There will be blood. There will be infectious disease. There will be excruciatingly tough decisions to make, human emotions to navigate, new techniques and concepts to learn. And there will be tests.

All that before you get to put an M.D. after your name.

Still interested? Then maybe a career as a doctor is the right choice.

Such eye-opening medical school realities recently were introduced to 28 Naperville Central High School students through Mini-Medical School for High School Students, presented at Edward Hospital by Dr. Ira Rubin, the hospital's pediatrics department chairman.

"It lets you know ahead of time what you're getting yourself into if you're going to go into medical school," senior Christine Groesbeck said.

Rubin, who earned his medical degree at the University of Chicago, said his mini-med school is designed to give teens who show a strong interest in and aptitude for medicine a closer look at the steps necessary to become a physician …