At the age of two, Jessica McConahey knew she wanted to enter the medical field. Just before her third birthday, her brother was born prematurely and was rushed into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She put on a protective mask and booties, but then she was told that the hospital employees had changed their minds and she was not allowed to visit her new sibling.
“I remember telling my parents, ‘I will be a doctor, so I will never be kept out of that room again,’” McConahey said.
Fast Forward to High School
From that moment on, she was hooked. By the time she entered high school McConahey was more determined than ever to find opportunities to gain medical experience and prepare herself for medical school. She jumped at the chance to take Collin College dual credit classes. McConahey started with an introductory health class, was president of her high school Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) group, competed in medical reading and even made it to state. Next, she took Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) dual credit classes which afforded her the opportunity to visit a nursing home and shadow medical professionals.
“The final semester I shadowed at the hospital, and I loved it,” McConahey said. “I love medicine because you can always learn something new.”
As a high school senior, she took Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) dual credit classes at McKinney North High School and a lab class at the college’s McKinney Campus.
“There are some skills you can’t do on other students; you need mannikins,” McConahey said. “The college’s mannikins are some of the most awesome mannikins you can use. I loved the stories Professor Leslie Teel would tell us. She is full of great examples and ways to make the EMT material come to life.”
McConahey earned her EMT certification and celebrated her birthday by taking the skills tests. The first in her class to pass all the skills tests, she was excited to enter the clinical portion of the program which included gaining experience via four fire department shifts and two hospital ER shifts. She will never forget the shift when the fire department received a call that required CPR.
“We show up at this man’s house and the paramedic truck was there before the ambulance,” McConahey explained. “The man was talking, but his chest was hurting. He passed out as we got him on the stretcher. The fire department wanted us to get skills, so they pulled me forward to help give CPR. Family members are very upset, and you have that person’s life in your hands. I was happy with how I handled it, and I learned that I don’t just want to do this, but I am good at it. That experience proved to me that medicine is what I want to do.”
After taking dual credit and AP classes in high school, McConahey transferred to the University of Oklahoma (OU) as a college junior and joined their new EMT club. Today she serves as chief of the club which has 50 members who volunteer their skills at events throughout the year.
Leaving a Legacy
McConahey put her heart into growing and fine tuning the OU EMT club, and she wanted to make sure this club would thrive after she graduated. Her solution was to create a new EMT class at OU. She spent her summer gleaning information from experts in the field including the club’s medical director and her former Collin College EMT professor.
“I reached out to OU, and it was approved to create this class,” she said. “I am a senior in college making a syllabus. I have a new respect for my professors. You don’t think about expectations and what is required as a student; you just skim it, but it is important.”
McConahey plans to graduate from OU with bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and psychology and a minor in Spanish and ultimately hopes to become a surgeon. Recently, she took the MCAT. Reflecting back, she said her dual credit classes and experiences were valuable.
“Knowing what the medical diagnoses are in broad terms, made the MCAT less confusing. It was helpful to have the background overarching knowledge in addition to the knowledge from my OU classes.”
While McConahey’s dual credit classes are still playing a role in her personal success, with her diligence the ripple effect of those classes may soon affect the lives of countless individuals for years to come. According to this Collin College alumna, that is one powerful reason to consider taking dual credit classes.