Gill shares experience at NCAA Championship

From Bryan to the ‘Big Dance’: Dr. Gill shares his experience at the 2011 NCAA Women’s Championship Game

Kory Gill, D.O., is an Assistant Professor of Family & Community Medicine and a Texas A&M Physician specializing in sports medicine with the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) College of Medicine. He was there for the 2011 NCAA Women’s Final Four championship game on April 5 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana where the Texas A&M Aggies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 76-70 to win the national title for the first time.

He shared his thoughts with us on Friday, April 8 after having returned to Texas—just in time to teach first- and second-year medical students at a clinical skills workshop.

College of Medicine: Congratulations and welcome back to Texas! How did you get the opportunity to go with the Texas A&M women’s basketball team to the championship game?

Dr. Kory Gill: There is a group of doctors that rotate between all Texas A&M University athletic events, and I just lucked out! I also was able to travel with the women’s basketball team to their regional games in Shreveport, Louisiana and Dallas.

COM: What types of injuries occur most often during a basketball game such as this?

KG: Most often, we’ll see sprains, strains, some cuts and bruises.  What we really watch out for are concussions.  The more “contact” the sport, the more we work. Nine times out of ten, there are no major injuries and we get to enjoy most of the game, but we’re always working.

COM: How would you describe your job on the sidelines in a nutshell?

KG: As doctors, we’re there to make sure that each and every student athlete is fit to play.  It’s purely a safety issue.  If there’s been an injury, and the coach wants to know if a player can go back onto the court or the field, we serve to make that assessment.

COM: So do you ever get a break?

KG: Not really!  There are more than 600 student athletes at Texas A&M, and in parts of fall and spring, all the sports’ schedules overlap, so we’re constantly busy.

COM: What’s next?

KG: Finish baseball, softball, track and tennis seasons.  Keep seeing patients and teaching the medical students.  Pretty soon it’s time for football season, and that’ll keep me busy until the women’s basketball team goes back to the national championship in 2012!