Jimmy Howick, MD, started out as a professional baseball player but an injury derailed his athletic career. He is now training to become a cardiologist, according to a June 12 report by Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Howick was recruited to play baseball out of high school and earned a scholarship to play Division I baseball at Jacksonville University. He tore his posterior cruciate ligament in his knee, causing many teams to lose interest.
While playing minor league baseball, Dr. Howick volunteered at the emergency department and patient transport at Mayo Clinic in Florida. When he was released from the Houston Astros organization, Dr. Howick returned to school in order to finish his undergraduate studies and complete the prerequisite courses for medical school.
Dr. Howick completed medical school in Virginia and matched to the internal medicine residency program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Dr. Howick is returning to Florida for a clinical fellowship at Mayo Clinic as he trains to become a cardiologist, the report said.