IN THE SCOTLIGHT By BARRY McNAMAR A
DR. MITCHELL HEUERMANN ’14 Love of vocal music steered former Chorale member to career as head and neck specialist
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f mitchell heuermann had been asked as a Monmouth College freshman what he wanted to do after college, he would not have said “become an otolaryngologist.” But that’s the track that the 2014 Monmouth alumnus is on after graduating in 2018 from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield. The newly minted M.D. has started a five-year otolaryngology residency there. “I discovered my field somewhat serendipitously,” said Heuermann. “Due to changes in our curriculum, rather than rotating through general surgery as my third-year surgery rotation, I rotated through otolaryngology instead. I really enjoyed my experience—I saw a wide variety of surgical procedures performed on a daily basis.”
Heuermann said his Monmouth checked field is “a little unique many of the boxes on Many of my classes at among surgical specialhis college-search list. ties.” “I liked the fact Monmouth stressed “It has no medical that Monmouth was critical thinking skills, counterpart,” he said. not a large campus,” “While general surgery he said. “Having and I believe this has has internal medieverything within cine, neurosurgery has walking distance helped me succeed neurology and cardiac was a big advantage. in medical school and surgery has cardiology, Being a smaller otolaryngology managcollege, I found the the beginnings of my es the entire spectrum community to be of diseases of the head very close-knit, and residency. and neck, both surgical I was able to become and non-surgical. Given good friends with a my love of music, the fact that ENT (ears, lot of different people.” nose and throat) deals with so many of our Heuermann met several of those people body’s major senses was an attractive point, outside the classroom while enjoying a handtoo.” ful of the College’s opportunities in music. Heuermann said his Monmouth educa“I took piano lessons all four years and was tion prepared him well for the challenges a part of the Chorale, Chamber Choir and he’s faced in medical school and in the early Scotsmen,” said Heuermann, who sang in stages of his residency. Carnegie Hall with the Chorale. “Medicine requires a good deal of problem The summa cum laude graduate also solving, sometimes in unconventional ways,” completed a SOFIA project commemorating he said. “Many of my classes at Monmouth the bicentennial of the birth of composer stressed critical thinking skills, and I believe Frédéric Chopin. this has helped me succeed in medical school “Being involved in the music department and the beginnings of my residency.” was a nice break from all my science courses, Heuermann especially recalls putting and I met a lot of my friends there,” he said. those thinking skills to work during the reHeuermann said medical school was an search opportunities he had at Monmouth. option he always considered. “My research experiences were a great way “My mother has been a nurse for more for me to learn how to tolerate ambiguity and than 20 years, so that was definitely a posiapproach an unknown problem, determine tive influence on my interest in healthcare,” what is already known about the problem, he said. “I had been interested in my science and use different resources to try to solve or classes up until that point, and I really troubleshoot when things go unexpectedenjoyed learning about the human body ly,” said Heuermann, who spent one of his during my science classes at Monmouth, as Monmouth summers at Purdue University well. I had the opportunity to shadow and through a Research Experience for Undervolunteer in a medical setting early on, so graduates opportunity. that helped solidify my decision to pursue Coming out of Peoria, Ill., Heuermann said medicine.”
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