Abstract
Objectives: Performing Arts Medicine (PAM) specializes in providing healthcare to performing artists. Participation in the performing arts can cause injury and impair performing artists' art and livelihood. While healthcare is often available for professionals, university-level students remain underserved. Therefore, our objective was to describe the successful development and implementation of the George Mason University university-level PAM program as a possible template for other institutions.
Participants: Collaborations among the Athletic Training Education Program, the Department of Dance, and the University Central Administration.
Methods: An athletic trainer provided free healthcare services that included preventive care, acute emergency and non-emergency injury care, assessment and referral, and rehabilitation to the students.
Results: Nearly 100 different injuries and 300 assessment and treatment healthcare sessions were provided in the first year of the program. Program benefits included improved healthcare for dancers, increased learning opportunities for students, research opportunities, and enhanced university recognition.
Conclusions: The PAM program offers primary injury prevention by implementing performing artists specific interventions and secondary prevention to improve their health outcomes. Overall, we hope the program's success encourages other institutions to provide in-house healthcare to their students, eventually helping improve healthcare status of all university-level performing artists.