Leaning over the bed, senior Abraham Sinaga (he/him) carefully clasps the cuff around the patient’s arm and, using the cold stethoscope, listens for the familiar “lub-dub” of the heartbeat. But Sinaga is not in a hospital; he is in the WaNIC Medical Careers class, measuring the vital signs of a dummy.
As an aspiring cardiologist or cardiothoracic surgeon, Sinaga was inspired by his mom and aunt, both of whom are healthcare professionals. He discovered his love of caring for the others’ health in sixth grade while volunteering with terminal elderly patients at two retirement centers in Bothell.
“We plan different events to make their experience in the nursing or retirement home better,” Sinaga said. “We did bingo nights, game nights, movie nights and a lot of things that make elderly patients feel good and know that they have somebody caring for them.”
Taking another step toward his future career, Sinaga practices medical skills such as sterilizing instruments and performing dissections in his WaNIC class. Similarly, senior Sophia Pearson (she/her), who is in the WaNIC Advanced Sports Medicine class, said that she has always wanted to make an impact with her career. Pearson said she loves the supportive atmosphere of sports communities — a feeling that deepened after injuries temporarily forced her off the softball field. Receiving care and attention from her family, coaches and medical staff relieved some of her pain and solidified her interest in helping athletes recover from potentially season-ending injuries.
“Being able to help them get back to it and be there for them in a hard time, getting them back to the thing they love will be really rewarding,” Pearson said.
Part of Pearson’s Advanced Sports Medicine class involves shadowing a pediatric physical therapist. From helping kids recover to reporting back to parents with promising news, she said that the experience is very fulfilling.
“It’s super rewarding to see how the kids make progress. They’ll come in one week and they can do 30 seconds of a certain exercise, and then a couple weeks later, they’re up to 90 seconds,” Pearson said. “They’re able to do these things that don’t seem like they would make a difference in their life, but it does.”
Daisy Ndegwah (she/her), a senior in the WaNIC Pre-Nursing Program, aims to pursue pediatric nursing. Ndegwah said that her main motivation to pursue healthcare is her parents, who both work in the medical field. She said that in the stressful nursing environment, she values patience and being ready for anything.
“I’ve faced racism — patients not wanting you to touch them or work with them, and I’m being patient with them and trying to explain to them that I know what I’m doing, and the care I provide for them is in their best interest,” Ndegwah said.
While the road to a medical degree can be difficult and uncertain, with potentially long pathways that include taking the MCAT, residency and obtaining licensing, students like Sinaga, Ndegwah and Pearson are determined to follow their passions. This year, Sinaga was accepted to the University of Washington for pre-science and Ndegwah to Bellevue College for nursing. Pearson aims to eventually work as a team physician or sports medicine physician assistant and will attend the University of Nevada to study kinesiology for her undergraduate degree.
“After going through 12 years of school, having to do six to 10 more, it’s going to be challenging, but I think it’s going to be worth it,” Pearson said. “It’s not like high school where you have to take a bunch of classes. All the classes will be something I’m passionate about.”
