Chargers NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative representative Michael Baham had a few words to describe what the last month had been like for him.
"It's been amazing," Baham said. "Once in the lifetime."
In the third year of the program, the Bolts got to offer Baham a one of a kind experience.
Baham, a student at the UC Irvine School of Medicine with a specialty of Sports Medicine, had the opportunity to shadow and spend time with Director of Player Health, Wellness & Performance Marco Zucconi and the Bolts medical staff over the last month during training camp.
Baham got a firsthand look at the day-to-day medical duties required on an NFL team.
"To be able to work alongside the team doctors, athletic trainers and just seeing how they're caring for these athletes has been amazing," Baham said. "Not many medical students can come into an NFL organization and view the care that these professional players are receiving.
"To be able to learn from the team docs, athletic trainers, nutritionists, everyone, I think has provided me a holistic perspective of not only care in the NFL, but medicine in general," Baham continued. "It's been amazing."
He later added: "I was trying to come in and just be a sponge, learn as much as I could. I'd say if anything, it exceeded my expectations just being able to learn from all of these individuals and just be here."
Baham's time with the Chargers included spending time with team doctors with different players, being on the field during practice, picking brains of team doctors and if an injury happened, assessing the player and their thought process. He also got to spend time with different units like the athletic training staff and others.
He got to see it all, as Zucconi gave him exposure to oversee many different key figures on the staff and how they all work together to make it work.
"I think Michael did a great job," Zucconi said. "He came in with an idea that he was going to be a great observer of what it takes to be a physician in a sport setting, but in an NFL setting more particularly. We just tried to expose him to how we try to provide the best care at a high level here in our setting."
"We thought the most important thing for him to do is to see the setup that we have here with so many professionals working towards the player's wellbeing," Zucconi later added. "Having exposure to the sports medicine staff and athletic trainers, physical therapists, but also our dietitian on staff here with the Chargers and how they impact each player with any injury or recovery needs. And then also having exposure to our strength and conditioning staff and how closely all three of those staffs work together."
Programs like these are important to help medical students get their experiences of what it's like to work in sports medicine while still in school before their career begins.
It's why the Bolts continue to participate in impactful programs like this.
"I think it's a really cool program that the NFL has put together and that's why we've been a part of it for the last three years and we'll continue to do so… To just help somebody when they're starting off on a path that they want to do for their career and also helping to expand the opportunity," Zucconi said.
He added: "I think that's the coolest part about the program is that it presents an opportunity to somebody who's already in med school and already wants to be a doctor, but it presents the opportunity to the possibility of being a team physician at some point for an NFL team or working in a sports medicine setting as a doctor for athletes."
The experience is something Baham said will stick with him for a long time, as he appreciated the chance to see how the process happens.
And coming from a Black and Filipino background, his participation is something he hopes can inspire others.
"This has just been a crazy experience," Baham said. "I think for me, it's the NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline initiative and I think this has sort of solidified the fact that representation in healthcare matters.
"Coming from a mixed background of Black and Filipino, it really goes to show that we need people of color and those that understand racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to be in positions like this," Baham added. "If anything, I hope to inspire the next generation of future physicians to be in a place like this and that they can aspire to be here and know that they can be."
