The timing lined up completely for Charles R. Drew College of Drugs and Science college students Kadarius Burgess and Felipe Ocampo.
As they entered their fourth 12 months, the NFL launched its Variety in Sports activities Drugs Pipeline Initiative. They each utilized for this system, and finally landed with the Rams, the place they every accomplished separate four-week rotations with Los Angeles’ medical and athletic coaching staffs earlier this fall.
“It is one thing we could not actually miss if it offered itself,” Ocampo stated. “That is one among causes I utilized, and I do not know if I ever would have gotten expertise like this in any other case.”
Campo and Burgess bought a hands-on take a look at what it is prefer to deal with skilled athletes and common sufferers, with their schedules consisting of 3-4 days of clinic work, adopted going into the working room on Fridays with Dr. Christos Photopoulos, one of many Rams’ crew physicians.
“It was a mixture of like going to clinic, seeing real-world sufferers, after which clinic on the Rams’ facility as nicely,” Burgess stated. “So it was mixture of issues, seeing how the distinction of care is from like NFL and like how they deal with individuals, and the non-NFL gamers too. So it was good.”
It wasn’t simply the crew physicians they bought to know, both. The Rams made positive each college students bought to see the way in which different sports activities drugs employees labored – so not solely the roles of the crew physicians, but in addition the sports activities psychologist, the bodily therapist, the athletic coach and the dietician as nicely. Burgess and Ocampo bought to interview a number of individuals and find out about their roles and the way they work together with not solely the gamers, but in addition the crew physicians, in addition to their profession paths.
Every additionally bought to go to a Rams recreation to look at how the Rams medical and athletic coaching employees treats gamers in that surroundings in actual time – for Burgess, that was the Falcons recreation; for Ocampo, the Cowboys recreation.
“I noticed how, not solely with the video games, but in addition, as far this expertise, shut the athletic trainers are, and form of like the primary line, so far as caring for the gamers,” Ocampo stated. “So that they’re like the primary one to see the gamers. Like Reggie, they inform him that they are hurting first, and that they’ve like a knee ache, after which Reggie and the gamers collectively will go and see and speak to the crew physicians. So I noticed that it is not the crew physicians who’re like their first – I imply, I suppose it actually relies upon, however for essentially the most half, the athletic trainers are the primary line. That is one thing I did not know earlier than. I assumed possibly just like the crew physicians had been at all times the one to form of rush and see what was occurring with gamers. But it surely’s not at all times the case.”
For Burgess, it was his first time going to an NFL recreation, which was “fairly cool.” He likewise was amazed by the tempo of that course of as he witnessed it.
“It was additionally fairly eye-opening, seeing how fast-paced it’s,” Burgess stated. “Like, watching it on TV, one factor you did not understand is how lengthy issues take. You in all probability suppose it takes longer, however being on the sphere and truly seeing it work, the whole lot strikes very quick. And it form of is sensible, since you’re making an attempt to verify these gamers are prepared and in a position to keep within the recreation, put together for one thing that is principally their job, so it is fairly cool to see that.”
Each Burgess and Campo appreciated the networking worth created by this system and sit up for capitalizing on it to assist advance their very own aspirations. In addition they appreciated what seeing that illustration means for his or her careers.
“Mentorship is essential,” Campo stated. “I believe when individuals see somebody attending to work with NFL athletes, for them, it is motivational to need to pursue careers like that. I believe not solely from my expertise, however having the ability to present individuals, particularly these underrepresented on this area, that they’ll do this and do these sorts of cool issues, that is a giant motive why this program was actually cool.”