We recently connected with Rathna Nuti and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rathna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

To this day, I vividly remember entering into my family medicine residency and hearing the overwhelming praises of one of the graduating residents who was going to be entering into a sports medicine fellowship out in San Diego. Everyone was talking about how she was the rock star of the program. My thought process at that time was nothing but admiration and how I could ever fill her big shoes. I mustered up the courage to speak with her and learned about all the hard work and dedication she put into this success. She was a very humble lady who acknowledged all her mentors who lifted her up in her career decision and encouraged me to pursue this field. I was directed to get a head start and dedicate myself to sports medicine and to get in touch with one of her mentors. From that time onwards, I took her advice very seriously and reached out to her mentor who sat me down and outlined what I had to do. Since that time, I seized every opportunity that came across and truly dedicated myself to the field of sports medicine.

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As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a sports medicine specialist who was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in DFW Metroplex. I graduated from Plano East Senior High School and attended Austin College where I pursued a double major in Biochemistry and Psychology. During my time in college, I published an Honors Thesis in Psychology, got inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Chi, and Psi Chi, and graduated with Summa Cum Laude. I was granted admission into the early acceptance program for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – School of Medicine in Lubbock.

During my time in medical school, I received the opportunity to become fluent in Spanish by providing medical needs for the Latino-Hispanic community. With a broadened cultural outlook and emphasis on the health maintenance of various communities, I returned to Dallas to train in Family and Community Medicine residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center/Parkland Hospital. During residency, I intensified my interest in Sports Medicine by becoming involved in various sports coverages ranging from World Olympic Gymnastics Academy meets to NHL Dallas Stars. I was honored with a Resident Scholarship by the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine as well as Departmental Distinction in Sports Medicine from UTSW.

After residency, I pursued a Sports Medicine fellowship at Drexel University in Philadelphia where further training was established in treating musculoskeletal issues, providing sonographic diagnoses, performing various types of procedures such as steroid, hyaluronic acid, and orthobiologics injections, and most importantly providing comprehensive care for various types of athletes.

In May 2021, DFW Sports Medicine opened its doors in order to help both children and adults with musculoskeletal concerns and sports concussions to provide an overall thorough comprehensive and dedicated care for our active individuals. During this growing phase, we recognized that wellness not only comes from an active lifestyle but also from within. There was a need for dedicated care from a physician to address proper hormonal balances as well as aesthetic services. In September 2021, we expanded our service line to incorporate this need and better serve the community. We wanted our patients to be assured that a physician was part of their care at every step and the decisions being made were done with a thorough conversation and understanding of the treatment plan and the people involved such as physical therapy and medical massage therapy.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I would absolutely choose the same profession and sports medicine specialty. Having the ability to provide proper care and management of a patient’s concerns and coming up with a treatment plan that allows them to resume their lifestyle in the manner that suits them is the best reward I could ever ask for. Furthermore, I was able to combine my love and passion for sports with medicine which I most likely couldn’t find anywhere else.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My ability to help treat a patient with not only my skills and knowledge, but also finding out the root cause and reassuring the patient that I truly care about their well-being by fully listening to their concerns has definitely helped build my reputation within the market. Many times, patients really want a professional who hears their concerns out fully and acknowledges their suffering. They don’t want to go to any health care professional and be “just a patient”. There are many more layers involved and understanding that complexity is definitely key. Furthermore, being equipped with multiple tools that could be potential treatment options gives patients relief that they are not just stuck to one option.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dfwsportsmed.com
• Instagram: @dfwsportsmedicine
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DFWSportsMed
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dfwsportsmed