For a second consecutive season, the Las Vegas Raiders are participating in the league-wide Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative.
With 21 teams taking part in the program this year, each student will complete a one-month rotation with their assigned NFL club, working directly with and shadowing orthopedic team physicians, primary care team physicians, athletic trainers, dietitians, mental health clinicians, strength & conditioning coaches and others to gain medical knowledge and exposure to patient care in sports medicine.
Gemma Lagasca, a first-generation Filipino American student from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, will join the Silver and Black.
“I’m incredibly grateful to the Las Vegas Raiders for the opportunity to participate in the NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative,” Lagasca said. “As a first-generation Filipino American woman, I never thought I would see myself in the NFL. I recognize this unique opportunity to provide representation and to work with athletes at the highest level. I’m excited to learn from each elite multidisciplinary medical team member and gain valuable hands-on experience. I plan to take the skills I learn into my family medicine residency and help the everyday person accomplish their fitness goals.
“As I continue forward as a sports medicine physician, I hope that athletes, patients, and young aspiring physicians can see themselves in me and believe they can have a place at the highest level.”
The program aims to diversify the pipeline of students interested in sports medicine careers as well as diversify NFL club medical staffs across the league, creating more opportunities among different backgrounds within the world of sports medicine.
“The NFL and clubs across the league are excited to welcome this year’s class of medical students and offer them the unique opportunity to complete clinical rotations with NFL club medical staffs,” said Dr. Allen Sills, NFL Chief Medical Officer. “We have an impressive group of participants joining us from a growing roster of medical schools this season as we continue our efforts to bring interested diverse and underrepresented medical students into the sports medicine professional pipeline.”
More information, along with the full 2024 Class, can be found here.