Understanding the Politics of Being a Team Physician

The team physician landscape is littered with political land mines. In the high-stakes world of professional sports, the politics of each encounter and medical decision-from figuring out how to get hired, to setting up a communication chain of command, to treating visiting players, to fending off the media-must be identified, assessed, and resolved. Key information must be communicated according to the expectations and unique personalities of each owner, general manager, coach, trainer, and athlete. The best team physicians manage relationships, competing agendas, and politically charged circumstances as adeptly as they wield a scalpel.