READY, OK?! A former cheerleader, turned doctor, has told how her role on a famous cheerleading squad has helped her pave her way to success in the medical arena.

Dr Nicol Corbin Bush became a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader at the age of 18, when she was also studying biochemistry at university. She performed with them during the 1990s, including when the Dallas Cowboys won the Superbowl in 1995.

media_camera From cheerleader to doctor ... Dr Nicol Corbin Bush was a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader in the 1990s. Picture: NBCDFW

After two years on the team, which is regarded as one of the best cheerleading squads in the NFL, she left to focus on her career in medicine.

Today, Dr Corbin Bush is one of just a few female paediatric urologists in the US — often treating children born with penile birth defect hypospadias. She has operated on children in need around the world and recently launched a charity called Operation Happenis, aimed at raising awareness about the birth defect that affects one in 200 boys.

media_camera Still smiling ... Dr Nicol Corbin Bush specialises as a paediatric urologist. Picture: NBCDFW

In an interview with NBCDFW, she said some of the skills she learned during her time as a cheerleader have helped her as a surgeon.

“When you think about any sort of performance at the level of a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader, we practice for something over and over and over until it was perfect. So when I go into operating room, it’s the exact same thing,” she said.

Dr Corbin Bush admits at one point she considered whether she should tell prospective employers about her cheerleading past. In the end, she decided to be open about it as it has played a valuable role in making her the person she is now.

media_camera Practice makes perfect ... Being a cheerleader is good training for working as a surgeon, says Dr Nicol Corbin Bush. Picture: NBCDFW

“That thought went through my head, ‘Should I hide my past?’ But at the end of the day, I thought, ‘No, it’s a huge part of who I am, a big part of my background, it shaped where I am today,’” she told NBCDFW.

Dr Corbin Bush, who is also a mother of four (including a set of twins), says one of her daughters wants to follow in her peppy footsteps.

“One of my twins wants to be a cheerleader, a doctor and rock star! I can help her with the cheerleading and the doctoring, but the rock star? She is totally on her own.”

Originally published as Cheerleader turns paediatric surgeon