Last month, WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine second-year medical student Erik B. Philipson presented at the 2025 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, briefly returned to Spokane to take an exam, and then finished the week by completing an IRONMAN triathlon in California.
“Balancing medical school, triathlon training, and research pursuits is a constant challenge and exercise in discipline, but that is precisely what I love about it,” he said.
Philipson presented two research abstracts at the conference. One project explored which Washington state high school students were most likely to receive temporary accommodations following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results showed that students at rural schools may receive fewer accommodations than those at urban schools, among other variation by demographic factors.
His second project compared student versus parent-reported outcomes following a TBI among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white adolescents, finding that there was a clinically significant difference within the Hispanic group in how students and parents rated students’ functioning three years after the injury. The research was supported by the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center at the University of Washington.
Presentations complete, Philipson briefly traveled back to Spokane to take his reproduction block examination before returning to the Sunshine State to complete the IRONMAN California. The event involves a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.
He finished the race in 10 hours and 19 minutes, placing 33rd out of 252 participants in his age category and 251st out of more than 2,300 total participants.
“I’m drawn to pushing myself in as many ways as possible and find that while my schedule may be busy, each activity gives me a chance to pause and recharge for the others,” Philipson said. “That said, there is no way that I would be able to do any of this without the support of my family, friends, and peers, who not only push me to be my best self but also often help take some of the much-needed load off.”
Congratulations to Philipson for crossing every finish line with a commitment to excellence in both medicine and endurance events!