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By Steve Seepersaud

One of the most enduring sports images in 2023 was Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering a cardiac arrest on the field against the Cincinnati Bengals. His cardiac rhythm was disrupted by a blow to the chest — a condition known as commotio cordis — after he made a tackle; that would almost certainly have killed him if not for the quick medical response on the field.

It was a historic moment that led teams across the National Football League (NFL) to rethink their approach to players’ medical care. The Washington Commanders responded by making Tom VanDruff ’94 the first full-time nurse practitioner on the staff of an NFL team.

His responsibilities include being at the team’s training facility during the week to sort out injuries from the previous weekend’s game, attending to players’ medical needs, and reducing the team physicians’ workload by seeing players himself at the facility instead of at a traditional medical office or clinic. This is important because team doctors are focused full-time on their own medical practices and only deal with football on a part-time basis.

“I don’t have game day responsibilities, which is a mixed blessing,” Van Druff said. “There’s always the fear of missing out because game day is usually when the most interesting things happen. I’m available minute to minute [during the week] while the players are at the facility, doing things you’d typically go to urgent care for, prescribing medications and treatments and helping connect players with specialists if something more intense is needed.”

VanDruff, a native of the Syracuse area, grew up as a fan of the Redskins in the early 1980s. He fondly recalls playing football with his cousin and they’d take turns roleplaying legendary quarterback Joe Theismann and fullback John Riggins.

VanDruff’s experience with Harpur’s Ferry ― as a dispatcher, transport driver and EMT ― inspired the biological sciences major to pursue a career in nursing. Rather than VanDruff seeking the Commanders’ job, it found him.

He had been working for more than 20 years in Northern Virginia in a variety of roles and settings: critical care nurse, nurse practitioner, emergency room, intensive care unit, with long hours and rotating shifts. He took a break to be a stay-at-home father when his wife obtained a partnership at her law firm. Following Hamlin’s on-field collapse, the Commanders’ medical director, who was already acquainted with VanDruff, offered him a position with the team.

“[The Hamlin incident] crystallized for the Commanders and other NFL clubs that there’s some room for improvement as far as having providers available for the players. This is such a novel position, and we’ve had to conceptualize this job from the ground up. It’s still a work in progress. My goal is to do whatever I can do to help out, to assist the athletic training and medical staffs in looking after the players.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity. I think it’s fantastic that they are employing nurse practitioners in an uncommon atmosphere, and I think it has been beneficial for everyone involved.”