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Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital hosts Glenbard high schoolers for career day

DOWNERS GROVE - Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital showed several Glenbard High School District 87 students what a future in medicine can look like during the school's annual Career Day Nov. 2.

Ten students from Glenbard South and West high schools spent the morning meeting with cardiologist Dr. Thomas Discher; Jeff Gianares, supervisor of the cath lab and interventional radiology; and Maureen Salihar, the manager of cardiac and vascular services. The high schoolers also got a tour of the hospital's cardiovascular unit.

The three clinicians shared their own stories of entering into the medical field and the importance of hard work balanced with exploring their interests.

"It's a long road, but that is life - life is learning," Discher said. "You are writing your personal story now, don't lose yourself."

Gianares never got the ability to explore medicine as a career path when he was younger, he said, only discovering it appealed to his love of people and helping them though his family. He, like Discher, said they appreciated being a resource to the students.

This is the second year the hospital has participated in the program, but Discher said he had long enjoyed helping introduce students to the medical field and encouraging them to think about their future opportunities. He got the opportunity to do so when he was a freshman at Aurora University, shadowing a local physician for a full semester, and wanted to pass on the chance.

"Students today have to play sports like they are playing in college, they have to practice music like they are joining a symphony," he said. "There's a lot of push toward excellence, when we instead need to push more exposure and experience."

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