Externship Allows Aspiring Doctor to Experience Medicine Hands-On
Carlee Davidson ’26 recently spent two days with Chris Raab, M.D. ’93, a Lehigh Valley Health Network pediatrician.By: Marie Tohill ’25 Friday, April 4, 2025 01:55 PM
Carlee Davidson ’26Carlee Davidson ’26, a pre-med biology major, spent two days over winter break at Lehigh Valley Hospital–17th Street in Allentown, just a block away from Muhlenberg’s campus. Davidson shadowed Chris Raab, M.D. ’93, a pediatrician.
The Career Center offered this opportunity as part of its winter externship program. Externships allow students to learn experientially and take what they have learned in the classroom to a new level. The experiences offered this winter ranged from one- to five-day excursions in which current students shadowed alumni, parents of Muhlenberg students, or other volunteers.
Below, Davidson describes what she learned on the sixth floor pediatrics unit at LVHN:
Why did you apply for this externship?
“I have always dreamed of being a pediatrician, so having the opportunity to shadow a pediatrician was incredible, really. It was exactly what I wanted to do and it’s so close to home. I’m from Allentown. I was born and raised here, so this is the community that I’m from and who I plan to work with when I get older. Everything lined up in a way that was really exciting.”
What was your experience like?
“Chris Raab is such an incredible person. It was great to get to know him. He’s very personable. All of the staff were great as well. It was really interesting to see how they all interacted. It’s something I didn’t really think about going into [the externship]. I was really excited to see how he would interact with patients, of course, but I wasn’t expecting to be as blown away by the actual physicians interacting with one another. There are so many departments within that one building. In one appointment, there might be several different specialists present. Patients only had to come to one space to get all of the resources they needed. If someone wasn’t there, the doctors would immediately put in a referral and try to personalize care.”
What was the most memorable part of your experience?
“The most memorable appointment was with [a patient who had suffered severe burns]. … [The doctors] were thinking of not only his physical care needs, but also his mental care needs and emotional care needs. There were so many people in that room. We had the nurse care practitioner who is always at his appointments to advocate for him. It was nice to see that he had consistency in his care. Watching the physicians interact and coexist together to really prioritize care for both parents and the children … it just changed me.”
What drew you to the medical field?
“Growing up, there were a lot of people who were sick in my family, with cancer specifically. I’ve seen it all the way up to the point of taking family members’ lives, and I’ve seen family members come completely through it on the other end. I’ve seen the care that it takes to comfortably allow someone to pass, and I’ve seen the care that it takes to encourage someone to push on and get them all the way through. Both of those are very difficult, and it takes a very unique and strong person to do that … and so, for me, watching that probably five or six times while growing up — which is so many, too many — watching that over and over and seeing doctors as beacons of light for you and your family made me look up to them and want to be in that role. I want to provide light and be that happy, caring person for people who can provide fair and loving, compassionate care.”
