Orthopedic surgeon from Rothman Institute lives Olympic dream amid COVID-19 pandemic
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For the first time since 2008, baseball and softball returned to the Summer Olympics, allowing for dreams to be made for both athletes and the physicians who care for them.
“To be able to participate in the Olympics as a doctor has been a dream and one of those bucket-list items that has been exciting,” Daryl C. Osbahr, MD, chief of orthopedic surgery at Rothman Orthopaedic Institute in Florida and co-chief medical officer for USA Baseball, told Healio Orthopedics.
Osbahr noted his passion of researching injury prevention modalities for baseball players led him onto the pathway of taking care of Olympic-style athletes nearly a decade ago when he became a team physician and member of the medical and safety committee for USA Baseball.
“Over the course of the last many years, I have been able to translate my involvement with USA Baseball into getting engaged into a leadership position in terms of how to define the medical oversight that is needed to take USA Baseball medical care to another level,” Osbahr said.
Concerns about COVID-19
Amid the excitement of USA Baseball qualifying for the Olympics after undergoing a 2-year qualification process was concern that the Summer Olympics would be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Osbahr.
“Certainly, all of us, especially the athletes, were concerned because you think about all the effort and all the investment that each one of these athletes has made into representing their country and, certainly, everybody had a fear that would be for naught,” Osbahr said.
However, with the health and safety of the athletes as one of the key principles during the 2021 Olympic Games, a set of COVID-19 countermeasures were put in place by the International Olympic Committee in conjunction with the International Paralympic Committee, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan. These countermeasures included daily COVID-19 testing, hand washing, social distancing and wearing masks, as well as the responsibility of reporting any symptoms, according to Osbahr. He added anyone who tested positive during the Olympics had to be retested and quarantined.
“I think the nervousness around COVID and testing has been there for a lot of us, especially those involved in high-level sports, over the course of the past year,” Osbahr said. “That said, obviously the stakes are higher that if you test positive, you might not be able to participate in the Olympics.”
Excitement over apprehension
However, Osbahr noted his job did not solely focus on COVID-19, but also involved making sure athletes were healthy and safe before arriving and during their stay in Tokyo.
“My job has begun by having conversations with all the players when it comes down to medications, whether or not they are vaccinated, any health issues we need to be concerned about, past injuries we need to be concerned about and then it rolls into pre-participation physicals to get to know the athletes,” he said.
Even with the extra precautions needed due to the pandemic, as a first-time Olympic attendee, Osbahr noted, despite some feelings of apprehension, he was still excited.
“Being part of the team and being able to represent this country is something I never thought I would be able to do,” Osbahr said. “Unfortunately, it never happened for me as an athlete, but as a medical doctor I got a second chance.”
Aim for success
For orthopedic surgeons with the dream of being a team doctor at the Olympics or taking care of high-level professional teams, Osbahr said it is important to follow the three As for success: accessibility, affability and ability.
“Also, answering your phone,” Osbahr added. “Anybody who has this dream of participating in the Olympics or taking care of high-level professional teams, it comes down to trying to be the best person you can be – trying your hardest to take great care of people, to care about people, being accessible and not feeling like answering your phone is a burden but that always answering your phone is an opportunity to help somebody.”
Prior to leaving for the Olympics in Tokyo, Osbahr said his plans included “soaking up the experience,” creating memories with the USA Baseball Team and not taking the experience for granted, with the hope to experience another Olympics in the future.
“My hope is that this is the beginning. It is an exciting beginning, but my hope is I obviously will have an opportunity like this again,” he said.
References:
olympics.com/en/news/baseball-s-olympic-return
olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/sports/baseball-softball/
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