Because of his love of biology, Emmerik Leijten decided to study medicine and become a medical doctor. He chose to attend a six-year medical college in Holland.
By Rosalie LaGrutta
Emmerik Leijten, the son of Paul and Candace Leijten of Pennington, graduated from Hopewell Valley Central High School in 2000 and decided to study abroad.
Because of his love of biology, Mr. Leijten decided to study medicine and become a medical doctor. He chose to attend a six-year medical college in Holland.
"My father is from Holland and I grew up in Holland," said Mr. Leijten. "I went to elementary school in Holland. When my family came back here, I went to high school in Hopewell."
When the time came to select a school, Mr. Leijten said, "I could have gone to Amsterdam, but I chose The University of Groningen, the Netherlands. I like the town better."
Mr. Leijten pointed out that aside from the advantages of studying for six years instead of eight and having family in Holland, "it is less expensive to go to school there." He gestured with a "thumbs up" to emphasize these perks.
Of course, going to school abroad has some downsides, too.
"I don’t get to see my parents as much and I don’t get to see my girlfriend." His girlfriend, whom he met while attending Central High, is Pennington resident Julie Carney.
Mr. Leijten was able to return to this area in late April to complete a required two-week nursing residency at the Medical Center at Princeton. He said the internship for first-year medical students helps the students gain social and communication skills as well as some practical experience. "The experience I gained during my two-week internship at the medical center was invaluable," he said.
"A two-week nursing residency for pre-med students is not required here in the United States. This gave me the opportunity to see all the aspects of what nurses do every day," Mr. Leijten said. "I definitely have a better view of nurses and of everything they do," he added.
"You don’t know what to expect until you’re there and experience it. I worked in different units including the operating room and the surgical medical and telemetry units. It was a great learning experience," Mr. Leijten said. He added, "it was interesting and fun, too."
Kathy Ryan, clinical educator at the Medical Center at Princeton, in conjunction with an educator in Holland, arranged from Mr. Leijten to do his internship in Princeton. Ms. Ryan said, "Emmerik was warm, sensitive and outgoing with the patients. He is a very mature young man."
"The goal of the two-week nursing internship," Ms. Ryan added, "was to expose Emmerik to patients and families." Ms. Ryan echoed the sentiments of Mr. Leijten when she added, "The internship is a wonderful way to foster physician-nurse collegiality; it’s too bad this isn’t done for pre-med students in the United States."
Mr. Leijten is back in Holland now, continuing his studies a long way from Hopewell Valley, but not so far that he can’t come home once in a while.

