For my elective block this year, with the help of one of our EM/ Sports Medicine faculty Dr. Chiampas and our senior program coordinator Chelsea, I was able to establish a sports medicine elective in the western suburbs of Chicago. I worked with Dr. Brian Babka, who is a sports medicine physician affiliated with Northwestern in the western suburbs who is also the medical director and head team physician for Northern Illinois University Athletics. At Northwestern, we all do a sports medicine rotation at our downtown site our intern year, but I am thankful I had the chance to explore a different experience in sports medicine. Compared to downtown, the western region spreads among many different localities from Dekalb to Warrenville to Geneva and provided a robust community sports medicine experience. The typical patients included various high school athletes from the surrounding region. It was track season and this was pre-social distancing, so a lot of the patients were runners who were in the midst of their seasons. Clinic days consisted of the initial evaluation of new patients and coming up with a therapeutic plan that was in line with the athlete's goals for the season. Mixed in was the assessment and treatment of patients (new and old) who were being treated for concussions and various other follow-up appointments. During down times in clinic, I was also able to tour the various facilities in the Northwestern West Region. One of the coolest things I saw was the Athletic Training and Sports Performance Clinic in the basement of the Warrenville location. It is a 2400 sq ft facility located just below the clinics. It is fully stocked with cardio equipment, weights, agility equipment, etc. All with the goal of helping athletes perform at or near 100% while in a setting with the direct observation of trainers, this facility also had video capabilities for analysis of athlete's mechanics and to further tailor rehabilitation. My experience on the elective was also supplemented by live sports team coverage of the NIU basketball team during games as well as collegiate athlete clinic during which we addressed the different medical needs of NIU college athletes. Overall, I am grateful to Dr. Chiampas, Dr. Babka and the residency program for allowing me to do this elective in order to further explore my interest in sports medicine.
Abiye Ibiebele, MD
PGY3