KU medical student (and Topeka Tropics kicker) ‘very blessed’ to work with the Chiefs

Patrick Baki will begin the clinical rotation of a lifetime as he joins the ranks of the Kansas City Chiefs’ medical staff on Monday.

A fourth-year student at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Baki is among 31 students from 19 medical schools selected for the NFL’s 2023 “Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative.” The program places students interested in sports medicine with NFL teams for a one-month rotation during preseason training camp.

The NFL, along with the NFL Physicians Society and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society, started the program in 2022. Originally, it placed 14 medical students from four historically Black colleges and universities on eight NFL teams. This year, it expanded to other medical schools local to NFL clubs. The NFL announced the 2023 selections on July 18.

Baki met with Chiefs head orthopedist J. Paul Schroeppel on Friday about the specifics of his responsibilities during his rotation. He’ll be at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph at least three days a week in August to assist the medical staff at training camp. He’ll do clinical work with the orthopedic surgeons, and he might also help the team’s family medicine doctors.

“Probably the most exciting thing that (Schroeppel is) pushing for is to have me be (on the) sideline for the last preseason game,” Baki said, though that is pending the Chiefs’ approval.

That game will be Saturday, Aug. 26, against the Cleveland Browns.

Baki, 27, was born in Florida but has lived in the Kansas City area and been a Chiefs fan most of his life. His mother and father came to the United States from Peru and Egypt, respectively.

He said he learned through his journey to the NFL program that less than 7% of sports medicine physicians are African American and less than 1% are Hispanic. Working with the Chiefs will provide Baki the opportunity to gain experience and strengthen his resume in a field where his Hispanic and North African heritage is underrepresented.

Initially, Baki didn’t know this was the career path he’d pursue upon graduating from Blue Valley Northwest High School. But after finishing his undergraduate Biology degree at KU, he knew he liked studying the human body and its inner workings, and that he didn’t want a typical desk job.

“I was like, ‘All right, I guess I’m going to try to be a doctor,’” Baki said.

The road to becoming one hasn’t been easy. Baki retook the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) a couple times and applied to medical schools three times before being accepted. He was accepted to a program in the Caribbean and almost went there before receiving an opportunity in Arkansas, for which he put down a deposit.

Then, at the last minute in July 2019, he received an email from Kansas inviting him into its MEDPATH Post-Baccalaureate Program, overseen by the KU School of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The program specifically serves those on the cusp of medical school acceptance who are demographically underrepresented in the field or are nontraditional students. Baki was one of only 10 people accepted.

“I got super lucky with that,” Baki said. “I consider myself very blessed.”

Before medical school, Baki was a scribe for Martin Emert, a cardiologist in the KU system, and he considered that as a possible specialization.

However, once he realized professional sports teams have physicians at practice and on the sidelines during games, he knew that’s what he wanted to do. He’ll be applying for orthopedic surgery residency this fall and hopes for a sports-medicine fellowship afterward to springboard a career with a professional sports franchise.

His relationship with the KU medical school DEI office led to his nomination for the NFL diversity program. When he was notified by email, he at first thought it was a joke.

He’s glad it wasn’t.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Baki said. “I’ve been super excited to start on Monday. I know I’ve said this a million times already, but I feel incredibly lucky to get to do this, because I know that there’s quite literally thousands of students who fall into that category as well, that would love to do what I’m about to get to do.”

When he’s not in the operating room, Baki has a hobby few know about.

A former high school soccer player, he started kicking field goals for fun and exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic — and went on to play in a semi-pro adult recreational league.

He’s currently the kicker for the Topeka Tropics of the Champions Indoor Football league, who he helped to a win in their last game of the 2023 season.

“I’m an active guy, I like working out, so it’s been really cool to be able to do that,” Baki said.

Now, he’ll also help the defending Super Bowl champions to health and victory.