Carle Illinois College of Medicine’s unique curriculum, coupled with rich clinical experience position the college’s graduates as top candidates when applying for medical residency, according to the school’s first graduates.
Dr. Alex Lucas – from Bridgeport in Southern Illinois – graduated from Carle Illinois in May 2022 and is an emergency medicine resident at Advocate Christ Hospital near Chicago (Oak Lawn). He credits the Carle Illinois curriculum and the clinical mentorship of Carle Health physicians with setting him up for success.
“I think Carle’s curriculum has been good for several different reasons. From the pre-clinic, early years they gave us a lot of time to study on our own but then discuss it with each other in the Problem-Based Learning sessions. When we got to clinicals, just because we were kind of a smaller new school, we had a lot of individual and small group work time with the different physicians,” Lucas said. “They all knew our names. Especially when I started doing my Emergency Medicine clerkships, they knew I wanted [to specialize in] Emergency Medicine, they made sure to take extra time to teach me the concepts, let me do different procedures, always getting me involved. And, I think that really helped. And it actually helped me shine on my away rotations at the bigger hospitals up in Chicago, that I did.”
Lucas cites Carle Illinois’ emphasis on innovation as helping him develop a problem-solver’s mindset – something he intends to carry forward into residency and future practice. He is considering a future fellowship in critical care. Lucas and classmate Christina Moawad collaborated with engineering and business students to design a safety harness that protects emergency services personnel from injury during patient transport. The device allows EMS personnel the freedom to care for patients in the rear of the ambulance, while also providing a safety restraint in case of a collision or sudden starts and stops.