Serving as a team doctor for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Paralympics ranks among the top honors and highlights of my career as an orthopedic surgeon. It was not only amazing to watch our incredible team of athletes compete in their various adaptive sports, but also to be a part of our equally incredible medical team, which worked tirelessly to support those athletes.
I had the honor to work alongside a team of physical therapists, massage therapists, athletic trainers, psychologists, nutritionists, and primary care sports medicine doctors to make sure that Team USA athletes were able to keep their minds and bodies in the game.
I think back to my time at Duke as a member of similar high functioning teams and am thankful for those experiences that prepared me to be a great teammate on a great team. From the Duke swim team to my Kappa Sigma pledge class to my pre-med and MCAT study groups, I learned what high functioning teams looked like and how to be an effective member of those teams. My experience with Team USA reinforced many of the lessons I first learned at Duke – how to collaborate, lead and contribute to something greater than myself.