Leveling the Playing Field in Athlete Healthcare
Providing quality healthcare for athletes isn’t just about having more resources. It’s about building stronger systems, creating meaningful partnerships, and making sure every athlete receives the care they deserve.
HBCU athletic programs often face significant gaps in funding, staffing, facilities, nutrition, rehabilitation, and access to specialty care. These challenges can shape daily medical operations, but they should never lead to lower standards of care. Meeting these needs requires creativity, collaboration, and a commitment to finding solutions.
In this episode of Time Out with the Sports Doctor, Dr. Derrick Burgess explores the realities of caring for HBCU athletes and what it takes to build a stronger sports medicine system. He highlights the importance of representation and trust, mentorship and career development, coordinated medical care, and partnerships with health systems, specialists, trainers, donors, and communities. The episode offers an important lesson: closing the resource gap isn’t about lowering expectations, but about building the networks and systems necessary to help athletes thrive.
“Smaller budgets do not mean you have less talented athletes, and it definitely does not mean you have less serious medical needs.” – Dr. Derrick Burgess
Topics Covered:
00:00:00 – Introduction
00:01:18 – HBCU healthcare gaps
00:03:06 – The power of mentorship
00:05:06 – The opportunity that started it all
00:08:19 – The orthopedic surgeon shortage
00:09:37 – The role of a team physician
00:11:17 – How funding affects athlete care
00:13:56 – Community impact
00:14:16 – Partnerships that close the gap
00:16:12 – Partnerships that close the gap
00:17:54 – Building the medical pipeline
00:18:49 – Team physicians as leaders
00:19:52 – Representation builds trust
Key Takeaways:
“We have to be able to take good care of our athletes.”
“We should be doing more protecting our athletes and taking care of our athletes.”
“Being in the community is very hard to take care of a team by yourself if you do not have these resources.”
“Representation can improve trust. If they don’t trust you, they will never talk to you.”
“The best team physicians build networks.”
Connect with Dr. Derrick Burgess:
Website: https://www.drderrickthesportsdr.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drderrickthesportsdr/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TimeOut.SportsDr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derrick-burgess-72047b246/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.derrickburgess243
Email: thesportsdoctr@gmail.com
Other Links: https://www.hbcuendzone.org/about
Scrubs to Skylines: https://www.instagram.com/scrubstoskylines/
This episode of TimeOut with the SportsDr. is produced by Podcast VAs Philippines - the team that helps podcasters effectively launch and manage their podcasts, so we don't have to. Record, share, and repeat! Podcast VAs PH gives me back my time, so I can focus on the core functions of my business. Need expert help with your podcast? Go to www.podcastvasph.com.
