Sports Medicine

Sports Medicine

Our Passion is to train phenomenal physicians to provide compassionate, whole-person sports medicine and MSK care.

The Waco Family Medicine – Sports Medicine Fellowship is unique. Housed in an FQHC dedicated to equity in care for the medically underserved, the fellowship has a dual focus. In addition to the usual care for athletes and team sports, we also train for a more robust skill set needed for lifestyle and MSK medicine. We build flexibility into the curriculum to develop your fellowship your way—for your future practice.

Structure

WFM is committed to an environment of diversity, equity and belonging—and to the wellness of our fellows.
Team Collaboration and Fellowships

Collaborations

Waco Family Medicine

A federally qualified health center caring for nearly 60,000 patients in McLennan County.

Ascension Orthopedics

Waco Independent School District

Comprised of 15,000 students and UIL Class 4-A athletics

Baylor University

Health, Human Performance, and Recreation

Faculty & Educators

WFM Faculty: Brock Niceler, MD

Brock Niceler MD

Fellowship Director

Sports Fellowship: University of Utah
Interests: MSK procedures, wilderness medicine, faculty development

Rotimi O. Adesina MD

Oluwarotimi O. Adesina MD

Associate Fellowship Director

Sports Fellowship: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Interests: pediatric sports medicine, concussion management

Chad Conner MD

Faculty – Sports Orthopedics

Sports Fellowship: Southern California Orthopedics Institute

Nolan Malthesen MD

Faculty – Sports Orthopedics

Sports Fellowship: University of Texas Health Science Center

Kevin Caperton MD

Faculty – Sports Orthopedics

Sports Fellowship: University of Colorado

2024-25 Fellows

Punya Dahal, MD

Dr. Dahal is originally from Pokhara, Nepal, a small town at the foothills of the Annapurna range in the Himalayas. He completed medical school in Kathmandu before moving to the United States, where he trained in Internal Medicine at the Mount Sinai St. Luke’s-Roosevelt program in New York. After residency, he worked as a hospitalist in Norfolk, Nebraska, while pursuing his goal of becoming a sports medicine physician and applying for fellowship in the field.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Dahal enjoys staying active through a variety of sports. Soccer has always been a favorite, and he’s recently taken up golf, pickleball, and snowboarding. He also loves the outdoors, with hiking, biking, and trekking among his favorite activities.

David Guerkink, MD

Originally from South Carolina, Dr. Guerkink grew up with a passion for the outdoors, often found with a baseball glove in one hand and a fishing rod in the other. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina, where he also met my wife, Anna. After completing medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina, his medical journey brought me to Waco for residency in Family Medicine. He chose to continue his training here, pursuing a fellowship in Sports Medicine.

Dr. Guerkink is deeply committed to improving access to high-quality care in underserved communities, where specialized treatments are often limited. His professional interests include diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound, minimally invasive office-based procedures, exercise physiology and biomechanics, and lifestyle medicine.

Outside of work, he enjoys mountain biking, fly fishing, rock climbing, running, and spending quality time with his family.

Curriculum

Fall

  • Orientation
  • In-training exam
  • Sideline preparedness / event coverage course
  • Football season
  • Sat AM injury clinic
  • Exercise phys. conference
  • Exercise phys. lab
  • Mass participation event conference
  • Submit AMSSM abstract
  • Sports journal club

Winter

  • Sports cardiology conf.
  • Basketball season
  • Mass participation event coverage
  • Ultrasound conf.
  • In-training exam
  • Exercise phys. journal club

Spring

  • Baseball season
  • AMSSM conf.
  • Pre-participation exams
  • Journal club (misc.)
  • Board prep

Sample Weekly Schedule

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
MorningFam Med SportsExercise phys. labOrtho SportsElectivePeds SportsFootball injury clinic
AfternoonDidacticsPrimary care clinicElectiveElectiveElective
EveningTraining RoomFriday night football

Electives and Didactics

Ascension Orthopedics

  • Pediatric Sports
  • Sports Orthopedics
  • Ortho Spine
  • Foot and Ankle
  • Hand and Wrist
  • Radiology
  • Ultrasound
  • Cardiology
  • Physical Therapy

Waco Family Medicine

  • Family Medicine Sports
  • Procedures
  • Ultrasound
  • Global health
  • Medical Spanish
  • Acupuncture
  • Grant Writing
  • Reading Elective
  • Research
  • Occupational Therapy

Didactics

  • Afternoon weekly lecture series (see topics)
  • Special conferences / workshops
    • Sideline/event preparedness
    • Exercise physiology
    • Mass participation event
    • Sports cardiology
    • Ultrasound
  • Specialist lectures
    • Orthopedic sports
    • Orthopedic specialists
    • Radiology rounds
    • Exercise physiologist
  • Journal club meetings
  • National conferences
    • AMSSM
    • Plus funds for one additional conference
  • National lectures
    • Sports Fellowship on-line lecture series
    • Sports cardiology modules
    • Sports ultrasound modules

Afternoon Lecture Series

July
August		Orientation
Medico-legal/administration Sports Medicine
Emergency preparedness
Sideline and event coverage
September
October
November		Musculoskeletal sports medicine
Musculoskeletal ultrasound
Mass participation events
Sports cardiology
December
January		Pediatric sports medicine
Finish ultrasound curriculum
February
March		Gen Med sports medicine
April
May		Environmental sports medicine
Wilderness sports medicine
Special popluations
JuneBoard review

@ 2026 Waco Family Medicine Residency