Health care at 200 mph: Purdue School of Nursing alumna fuels fast recoveries at Indianapolis 500 as part of IndyCar medical team 

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu 

The IndyCar medical team on the front stretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.(Photo provided)

From early spring through late fall, Jennifer Burchett, a 2012 Purdue University School of Nursing alumna and a nurse at IU Health Methodist Hospital, can be found near the track watching professional IndyCar drivers race at extremely high speeds. With these high speeds comes the potential for crashes and significant injuries and health risks, which is where Burchett and the rest of the IndyCar medical team spring into action.  

“All of the things that my team members do — they’re out there making huge differences in emergency medicine, event medicine and motorsports medicine,” Burchett said. “There’s an opportunity to do so many things, and every day brings a new challenge and a new opportunity to do something.” 

Jennifer Burchett(Photo provided)

Assisting with anything from concussions to broken bones, the IndyCar medical team travels with the racing teams to each event alongside a 52-foot specialized semi-trailer that serves as a traveling emergency room to take care of the drivers, crew members and anyone in the IndyCar paddock. The medical team consists of two primary doctors, a motorsports fellow, a neurologist, two nurses and a medical liaison. Burchett is entering her seventh season on the medical team. 

“We’re getting ready for the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ coming with the Indianapolis 500,” Burchett said, who also works in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s infield care center. “That’s no joke — hearing all those cars fire up and getting to know the drivers as people. I’m very protective of them in hoping that we keep them safe. They’ve developed a great rapport with the team because they know that we have only their best interests in mind.” 

As safety improvements continue to roll out for the cars, the track and the drivers, Burchett noted the care they provide has continued to evolve as well. 

“It used to be we were seeing a broken bone every race, and now it’s different,” Burchett said. “The design of cars takes the energy of the impact away to protect the driver. We measure the G-forces in the drivers’ earpieces in both their left and right ear, and we compare it to the G-forces that were in the car. We have set protocols for if their G-forces measure over a certain level for evaluation of a concussion. They may be answering everything fine, and everything may check out on their exam, but these are things we have to do. It’s awesome to see when the car’s forces will be way up, but their ear forces are fine — the car did its job.” 

For Burchett, being a nurse on the IndyCar medical team isn’t just about investigating and treating physical injuries. It’s also about ensuring the drivers’ overall well-being, both mental and physical. 

“You look at the whole person and not just one aspect of them, which I so appreciate in nursing,” Burchett said. “Take a driver who has been in an accident, for example. They truly may have seen their life flash before their eyes when they are spinning or flipping. Of course, I want to make sure head-to-toe they’re OK, but also, are they mentally OK?  

While assisting with a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Burchett gets a photo with four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves.(Photo provided)

“We had a crash at a track a couple of years ago where the driver was able to get himself out of the car once we got the car right-side up, and he walked to the medical vehicle to be brought to the trailer, but once he got in, he needed a minute. We gave him privacy, and when I walked back in after a couple of minutes, I asked if he wanted a hug, and he said yes. Maybe driving is a huge part of their identity, but they have other factors in their lives. Emotionally and socially are they doing OK? I think nursing looks at people differently than other professions.” 

Although the partnership between IU Health and IndyCar is what made Burchett aware of the position, she credits her Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences nursing education with giving her the skills she needs to be successful, both on the track and in the hospital emergency department. 

“One of the things I valued most about the Purdue program is the different clinical sites,” Burchett said. “You’re not just locked into one hospital system. I did my psych clinicals at the psych hospital in Lafayette. Through all of the rest of them, I was exposed to IU Health, St. Vincent, the VA, Community Health Network and Franciscan. You get a really good sense of their intentionality in how they saw nursing.” 

In addition to her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, Burchett also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in public relations and strategic communication from Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts. While Burchett started her career at ESPN in Connecticut, she found her passion for nursing later in life through a mission trip to Nicaragua and later through her family’s experience with illness.  

The IndyCar medical team takes a photo at the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix race in California.(Photo provided)

“[In Nicaragua], we were visiting rural health clinics and seeing people with illnesses,” Burchett said. “It was incredible and turned my path a different way. My father was also ill, and we spent a lot of time in doctor’s offices and hospitals, and it let me have the exposure that I hadn’t had up close with that. The care he received was awesome.” 

Whether she is talking about an Indiana Pacers basketball game — for which she still occasionally fills in as a broadcaster on ESPN broadcasts — or travel or something else, Burchett said one of the most rewarding parts of her job is being able to relate to her patients and put them at ease.  

“That’s what nurses do,” Burchett said. “Getting to be an advocate for another person is the biggest responsibility that I have in my jobs, but I would never trade that because I take that as such a privilege.” 

While her path has been full of unexpected turns and surprises, Burchett explained the resilience and adaptability of nurses gives them the power to succeed anywhere. 

“When I went into nursing, I didn’t know that this job existed,” Burchett said. “Nurses truly can do anything. None of this would have happened without Purdue.”