Although she concedes she’s never been much of an athlete, Marquisha Myles is a top pick in this year’s NFL draft – sort of.
About to start her fourth year in the College of Human Medicine, Myles is among students from 21 medical schools nationwide chosen for this year’s NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative. She will spend a month this summer working with the Detroit Lions medical staff, including physicians, trainers, dieticians, mental health clinicians, and strength and conditioning coaches.
“I really wanted this,” Myles said. “I’m so excited. I can’t believe I got this. It felt like the greatest honor ever.”
The one-month clinical rotation will allow her to “see how everybody works together and develop my understanding of multi-disciplinary teams,” Myles said.
The National Football League, along with the NFL Physicians Society and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society, created the initiative in 2022 to increase the diversity of students interested in 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 Allen Sills, MD, the NFL’s 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.”
In addition to her interest in sports medicine, Myles said she hopes to specialize in orthopedic surgery.
“Most of the time in ortho, there’s a clear issue with a clear fix,” she said. “Someone comes in with a problem, and you’re able to fix them. I love that, and I love how it can blend with other specialties.”
Before medical school, Myles followed her mother, Teva, into nursing at Henry Ford Health.
“For me, nursing was a step toward my end goal,” she said. “It gave me a ton of perspective. I feel the experience I got as a nurse gave me the maturity I needed.”
Her father, Carl, a bus driver for the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, “always stressed to me the importance of community and giving back,” she said.
After studying her first two years in East Lansing, Myles is spending the last two at the Detroit campus based at Henry Ford Health.
She will be on the sidelines for Lions preseason games in August, putting her in close proximity to the players.
She recalled the advice of Tamarandobra (Dobra) Ogeh, a College of Human Medicine student chosen for the program last year: “It’s OK to go up to (quarterback) Jared Goff and introduce yourself.”
Her father joked that maybe she could get him season tickets.
“I told him to calm down,” she said.
While conceding her own “primary interest is in basketball,” Myles said, “I’m starting to get into the NFL.”
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