Mic Man to M.D.
Chip Chambers traded the suspenders for a stethoscope to serve patients.
When Dr. Chip Chambers walks into an exam room at Self Regional Healthcare in rural Greenwood, South Carolina, he always begins with the same question: “How can I help?”
And then, he lets them talk.
As the patients describe their ailments or injuries or updates to the fresh-faced doctor with the red beard and kind eyes, it’s unlikely they’re picturing Chambers in his previous life leading student section cheers at Georgia Bulldogs football games. As Mic Man, Chambers donned suspenders, bow tie, dancing shoes, and, of course, a microphone as he exuberantly yelled, jumped, chanted, and taught the crowd how to Dougie.
It’s probably best that his patients don’t know this side of their doc—after all, this is Clemson Tiger country.
Finding a Purpose
Growing up in Watkinsville, Georgia, just outside of Athens, Chambers knew two things: He wanted to attend the University of Georgia, where he’d become a third-generation Bulldog, and he wanted to be a doctor.
“I have always had a strong conviction that the blessings and privileges that we have in life are not ultimately ours, but we’re to steward them for other people,” he says.
Chambers came to UGA on a scholarship through the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities and enrolled in the pre-med track. He majored in biology at the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and economics at the Terry College of Business. He also earned a midterm Foundation Fellowship.
As a student, Chambers worked at the Mercy Health Center, a Christian-based clinic, where he solidified his resolve to be a doctor and developed a curiosity about health care policy that he still holds.
Mic Man
That same big heart that directs his compassion for others also powers his lifelong love for the Georgia Bulldogs and his enthusiasm for expressing it.
As a freshman, Chambers earned a reputation at Georgia basketball games for his nonstop dancing in the student section. Someone from Georgia Athletics took notice and suggested he try out for the Mic Man position.
He got the job beginning his sophomore year.
The Mic Man role, vacant since Chambers’ last season in 2019 until this year, serves as the hype person for the student section, helping amp the crowd and provoking cheers alongside the cheerleaders.
“I really just tried to make Sanford Stadium one of the best places for our team to play and one of the worst places for other teams to play,” he says. “That’s the goal,”
“I think most people who work with me in the clinic or the hospital are probably a little bit surprised when they see videos of me on the sideline…but to me, both feel pretty natural.”
Chip Chambers
Becoming a Doctor
After graduating in 2020, Chambers enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania to earn an M.D. and an M.B.A.
The business degree was all about trying to understand how to manage systems. His experience as an undergraduate at the Mercy Health Clinic inspired him to grapple with not just how to help individual patients but also to try to heal a system.
“Unfortunately, the American healthcare system is quite expensive without necessarily delivering improvements in care,” Chambers says. “I think many of the failures of our healthcare delivery system aren’t questions of biology; they’re questions of how we’re going to structure the system and deliver care.
“Medical school is going to provide you with the medical know-how that you need to be a doctor but might not provide as much training about the healthcare delivery system. And I think many physicians’ frustrations are with the delivery system.”
In Philadelphia, Chambers found another faith-based clinic to get hands-on training and receive mentorship from like-minded physicians. The Esperanza Health Center operates in an area that has struggled with the opioid epidemic.
“I would see some patients with them,” he says, “but then we would also read books together and just discuss what it looks like to love people in a way that is humble and compassionate and really ask them how we can be useful rather than coming in and telling them what we’d like to do.”
“I think every decision that we make either moves us closer to or further from the type of person that we want to become.”
Chip Chambers
Back to the South
Chambers wrapped up at Penn in the spring. When it was time to find a residency program, he was looking to leave the big city and practice in a rural community.
“I was looking for a program that would place me in a setting that needs adequate access to healthcare and where primary care can really make a difference and also provides really strong clinical training.”
He found a new home in Greenwood, where Self Regional Healthcare’s Family Medicine residency takes 10 new clinical residents each year.
“They’re doing a lot of great stuff in the community, and I wanted to be a part of that,” he says. “Plus, it was coming back closer to home.”
These days, Chambers is trying to help his community with each patient he sees, but he is working to be part of something much bigger.
“I think that many people have lost trust in medicine, particularly in urban and rural areas,” he says. “One day I hope I can play a small role in earning back trust with high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based, joyful care, one patient at a time.”
Written by: Aaron Hale
Photography by: Andrew Davis Tucker
Design by: Kaiya Plagenhoef