The Other Team at the World Cup: Six PAs Behind the Scenes

I attended my first World Cup match in the Dallas area this summer, and the excitement was palpable. Australia and Egypt were tied 1–1 after extra time, so we got the full, nerve-racking experience of a penalty shootout. Egypt won 4–2, but what stayed with me was the energy of the crowd—the kind you can feel before the ball even reaches the goal.

Soccer has always been dear to me. I played throughout my life and in college, so being there felt especially meaningful. I was watching as a fan, but the PA in me couldn’t help thinking about the medical team needed to care for a stadium full of people.

At a different World Cup match in Foxborough, Massachusetts, six emergency medicine PAs from Mass General Brigham were doing exactly that. According to AAPA’s account, Sabrina Serino prepared the player medical room near the field, Jessica Britnell worked in a medical trailer in the fan area, and Donna Collins, Nicole Lemmons, Hana Dubsky, and Noelia Kvaternik staffed health stations around the stadium concourses.

Did you know? Preparing for event medicine can begin hours before the first whistle. With heat a concern, Serino helped ready an ice bath, checked medications and equipment, and prepared medical bags for the physicians working on the field. Thankfully, no player needed her care during the match. As she was leaving, though, she helped an injured spectator who had fallen, controlling the bleeding and arranging transport to a hospital.

Meanwhile, Britnell treated fans for dehydration and falls and helped with smaller needs such as blisters. One of the most striking moments in AAPA’s story involved Dubsky: a spectator came to a clinic with palpitations, dizziness, and supraventricular tachycardia. Dubsky guided the patient through a Valsalva maneuver, monitored her after her rhythm converted, and the fan was able to return to the match.

I love that range of care. On the same day, this team had to be ready for a major emergency, treat the problems actually coming through the door, and adapt to a setting unlike their usual emergency departments. They also got to share the joy of a World Cup crowd. Serino, it turns out, is a lifelong soccer player too—which made me smile.

My Dallas match gave me an unforgettable soccer memory. The story of these six PAs gave me an equally memorable picture of our profession: prepared, flexible, and present wherever people need us.

Your turn: If you had the opportunity to join a medical team at a future major sporting event—perhaps the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics—would you do it? What event would you want to cover?