Sports Medicine Doctor

                       Sports Medicine Doctor

Duties and Responsibilities:

As a sports medicine doctor, you will diagnose and treat athletes and other active people suffering from a sports-related injury or illness. You will have the opportunity to work with medical professionals such as surgeons, physical therapists, physiologists, nutritionists and coaches to help patients in their recovery. You may also be asked to come up with ways of preventing injury and promoting health for individuals actively involved in sports and exercise.

Salary:

$48,539-$242,304

Education:

After obtaining a bachelor's degree with a strong pre-medical curriculum, you must attend an accredited medical school to earn a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree or Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.). These similar programs take four years to complete and include coursework in the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, biochemistry and physiology, as well as the legal aspects of medicine, among other topics. After receiving your degree, you must perform a residency lasting 2-7 years in a specialty such as family medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, internal medicine, emergency medicine or pediatrics. As part of your residency, look to become involved in research projects and select rotations geared toward sports medicine. During your residency you can study urgent care, pharmacology, musculoskeletal medicine and endocrinology. Following residency, you can complete a sports medicine fellowship; this usually takes 1-2 years to complete. Besides lectures, you may be involved in doing clinical work with patients trying to recover from musculoskeletal injuries such as sprains, stress fractures or injuries from overuse. You may also assist athletes with strength conditioning or help them deal with non-musculoskeletal injuries, like brain trauma, chronic illness or issues related to nutrition and performance.