VCOM View Vol 11 No 1

of care available and to build awareness for the needs of underserved populations in the region.

to expand the program to additional areas of high need.

residency. This will provide the necessary outpatient clinic at which fellows will care for patients when not working alongside the College’s university and high school partners. Opening such a clinic has been delayed due to challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Primary care is the foundation of our practice, as we manage all aspects of the patient’s health,” said Jacob Turnbull, DO, a 2020 graduate of the VCOM-Virginia Once established, the fellowship will be a one-year program open to physicians from across the country who have completed their residency requirements and primary board certification. The goal will be to establish and grow relationships in Louisiana and across the Delta in order to continue to improve the quality sports medicine fellowship program and current sports medicine faculty member at VCOM-Louisiana.

“Ensuring the safety of youth sports (recreational and organized school sports) has been a mission of mine since moving to Lafayette, LA, after fellowship graduation,” said Aldret. “Partnering with high school athletic trainers for on-field coverage and injury clinics has been an integral part of securing safe sport practices. Sports are huge in Louisiana, and the entire town will turn out. Our visibility via coverage of Friday night lights and direct interaction with the future of Louisiana is a way for us to reform the medical mindset of the state and recruit future physicians for the rural communities.” Sports Medicine Fellowship Still young in its development, VCOM-Louisiana’s sports medicine program is quickly building steam and gearing up to launch the new fellowship program. In order to roll out such a program, however, the fellowship must be tied to a primary care

Research and Awards Continued research is one of the key components to ensuring the long-term success of both the fellowship and the sports medicine program as a whole. Aldret and her team have submitted REAP grants both years that VCOM- Louisiana has been in operation, with the goal of being able to obtain funding for research to improve the quality of treatment they can provide to the athletes in their care. Turnbull received a grant earlier this year from AACOM to further his research on sideline ultrasound technology. Read more about his research on page 39. As with the hands-on elements of sports medicine, VCOM- Louisiana’s medical students have been quick to jump into the realm of sports-related research. One

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