Madison Kocian’s past and present careers collided when she attended the 2024 Paris Olympics while completing a virtual, clinical core rotation course for the Physician Assistant Program in Baylor College of Medicine’s School of Health Professions.

Kocian, a third-year physician assistant student and retired Olympic gymnast, attended the Paris games to create behind-the-scenes media content for Team USA in addition to watching athletes compete. “It was a really cool experience,” Kocian said. “I’m very grateful that Baylor was able to work with me to make it happen.”

Madison Kocian traveled to Paris for the Olympics in summer 2024.

When the Dallas native wasn’t developing content or watching the competition, she was attending her Preparation for Clinical Practice course via Zoom. Kocian studied for quizzes and presented slide decks for the course that prepares students for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam.

Kocian, who earned gold and silver medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, said it was great to be back in the familiar setting she left behind in 2020 to pursue medicine. She became interested in medicine after spending time in various doctors’ offices for gymnastics-related injuries and wondering how the body functions.

The high-quality care Kocian received for a shoulder injury while she was a student-athlete at the University of California – Los Angeles led her to further pursue medicine. She received the best care of her gymnastics career and wanted to provide that to others.

So, she decided to trade in her leotard for a white coat.

In college, Kocian shadowed Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the surgeon who repaired her shoulder, at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. She said it was fascinating to see how ElAttrache interacted with his patients, especially those who were athletes. “He truly had the best interest for (his patients), not only in their sport but just as a person,” she said.

Although Kocian enjoyed working at the adult orthopedics clinic, she hoped to specialize in pediatric medicine. She became interested in the specialty after working at children’s health organizations, including Children’s Health Andrews Institute in Plano. Liam Clark, a young boy who died of acute myeloid leukemia in 2020, influenced her burgeoning interest in pediatric medicine. Clark was the younger brother of Kocian’s college teammate Mercedez Sanchez; his cancer battle deepened Kocian’s commitment to working with organizations that support children with diseases which she began doing in 2016.

Kocian is an ambassador for Never Ever Give Up. She stuffs JoyJars at NEGU’s factory to give to children staying at the hospital. One of her favorite memories was visiting a children’s hospital with her Olympic medals. “It was really special to be part of (the foundation’s planning process and impact),” Kocian said.

In 2019, Kocian and her UCLA gymnastics teammates partnered with Make-a-Wish Greater Los Angeles to make the dream of Joselin Palma come true. Palma, who aspired to be a gymnast for UCLA, spent the day at the university’s Yates Gym to try out different gymnastics equipment while the team cheered her on. “It was really special because you could tell how happy not only (Joselin) was, but her parents were,” Kocian said. “(Her parents) were just very grateful that she got to experience (being a UCLA gymnast). It was such an incredible day.”

As a physician assistant student, she applies the lessons learned as a gymnast to her new medical career. Since starting at Baylor in 2022, she has received immense support in her pursuit of becoming a successful physician assistant. The program has also been supportive of her decision to engage in opportunities from her former gymnastics career.

Madison Kocian will graduate from Baylor’s School of Health Professions on Dec. 7.

Gymnastics will always be a part of Kocian’s life, but her primary focus is on her career in medicine.

“I’m just excited for graduation and to start working toward making changes in patient care,” Kocian said. “Building those experiences and trust with my patients, it definitely hasn’t been an easy journey, but I’m very thankful for my classmates and the faculty at Baylor.”

On Dec. 7, Kocian is scheduled to graduate and be honored during the School of Health Professions commencement ceremony.

By Jasmine Edmonson, communications associate, Business Operations, in the School of Health Professions