Interest in Sports Medicine

[pvpapaioann]

Hello,

I'm curious at the different routes to get into sports medicine. I've done some research and find that you can apply to sports medicine fellowships following residencies in several specialties (such as internal, family, pm&r, etc.), but I haven't found an non surgical orthopedic residency as a possible route. Do they exist? Also, which residency would be the best when trying to work with athletes and/or become a team doctor? I am not that interested in orthopedic per say, so I'm looking at non-surgical routes.

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[Redpancreas]

I'm not sure what you're asking here. Sounds like you be realized that sports medicine (someone who deals with the musculoskeletal system with a medicine perspective rather than surgery) is a fellowship through FM and EM (I did not know about IM). Then you go into say that's what your interested in? What's your question then?

 

[Stagg737]

Hello,

I'm curious at the different routes to get into sports medicine. I've done some research and find that you can apply to sports medicine fellowships following residencies in several specialties (such as internal, family, pm&r, etc.), but I haven't found an non surgical orthopedic residency as a possible route. Do they exist? Also, which residency would be the best when trying to work with athletes and/or become a team doctor? I am not that interested in orthopedic per say, so I'm looking at non-surgical routes.

I was also very interested in this coming into medical school and did not change my mind until 3rd year (I'd still love to do that, but it's a little too specialized and I picked a field that I liked in a much broader sense). Unfortunately, there are no non-surgical orthopedic residencies, so if you're interested in the orthopedic route you're going to have to go all in and then specialize later.

Imo, the best route to take if you want to become a team physician at a high level (pro or D1 college) is to go the orthopedic route. PM&R would potentially allow you to work with athletes a great deal as well, but you'd have to go into private practice and do some serious marketing/networking to attract specifically athletes. I'm sure it could be done, but it's much harder than going the ortho route and doing a fellowship in sports med.

I have met numerous physicians who were team physicians for professional teams and several semi-pro and college teams. All of them were orthopedists. You can certainly focus on sports medicine in other fields, but Imo it's much harder to do. All the FM guys I know that did a fellowship in sports med still see all the same patients that all the other FM docs see but maybe see a few more athletes than they would otherwise. I don't know PM&R sports med docs, so you'll have to ask around about that. I also don't know any IM sports med docs (didn't think they had that as a fellowship), but I'd guess it would be the same as FM.

 

[FindMeOnTheLinks]

I was also very interested in this coming into medical school and did not change my mind until 3rd year (I'd still love to do that, but it's a little too specialized and I picked a field that I liked in a much broader sense). Unfortunately, there are no non-surgical orthopedic residencies, so if you're interested in the orthopedic route you're going to have to go all in and then specialize later.

Imo, the best route to take if you want to become a team physician at a high level (pro or D1 college) is to go the orthopedic route. PM&R would potentially allow you to work with athletes a great deal as well, but you'd have to go into private practice and do some serious marketing/networking to attract specifically athletes. I'm sure it could be done, but it's much harder than going the ortho route and doing a fellowship in sports med.

I have met numerous physicians who were team physicians for professional teams and several semi-pro and college teams. All of them were orthopedists. You can certainly focus on sports medicine in other fields, but Imo it's much harder to do. All the FM guys I know that did a fellowship in sports med still see all the same patients that all the other FM docs see but maybe see a few more athletes than they would otherwise. I don't know PM&R sports med docs, so you'll have to ask around about that. I also don't know any IM sports med docs (didn't think they had that as a fellowship), but I'd guess it would be the same as FM.

I agree with everything you said but just wanted to throw out an n=1, I worked with the team doctor for an MLB team and he was family medicine trained before his sports medicine fellowship.

 

[augeremt]

The family sports med docs work hand-in-hand with the orthopods at the big university program I'm currently rotating through. They "screen" all the patients by being the first point of contact at the sports med department and treating all non-op issues. They then refer the surgical candidates to the orthopods. It works great because the family med guys get bunches of sports patients while the orthopods focus on operating on the patients who need it.

 

[Doctor-S]

As of now, there is no "non-surgical" orthopedic pathway to become certified in sports medicine (via ABOS).

I have provided the different training routes and certifications related to sports medicine in the outline set forth below.

With the exception of orthopedic surgery, the rest do not require a surgical residency.

All of them are useful pathways if you want to become a team physician and work with NCAA/Pro/Olympic athletes. However, the most common specialties encountered in sports medicine practices include orthopedic surgery, emergency medicine and internal medicine. It's also advisable to become familiar with neurological trauma (because head trauma is a common issue in sports).

Certifications in Sports Medicine:

1. American Board of Family Medicine.

Offers a certificate of added qualifications in sports medicine from ABFM, following successful completion of ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowship, etc.

The American Board of Family Medicine offers a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Sports Medicine. This CAQ is designed to recognize excellence among those Diplomates whose practices emphasize expertise in the Sports Medicine field. The CAQ in Sports Medicine is offered twice annually in conjunction with the American Board of Emergency Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

2. American Board of Pediatrics.

Offers a certificate in sports medicine from ABP, following successful completion of ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowship, etc.

The American Board of Pediatrics, in collaboration with the American Board of Family Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine, and the American Board of Emergency Medicine, offers a certificate in Sports Medicine .... a candidate for sports medicine certification must have achieved initial certification in general pediatrics and continue to maintain general pediatrics certification in order to take a sports medicine certifying examination.

3. American Board of Orthopedic Surgery.

Offers a Subspecialty Certificate in Orthopedic Sports Medicine from ABOS, following successful completion of ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowship, etc.

Applicants must have completed a one year ACGME accredited fellowship in orthopaedic sports medicine. In addition, a one year case list must be submitted of at least 115 operative cases and 10 non-operative cases. Seventy five of the 115 operative cases must involve arthroscopy as a component of the procedure.

4. American Board of Internal Medicine.

Offers a sports medicine certification, following successful completion of ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowship, etc.

Candidates must have satisfactorily completed a minimum of one year in an emergency medicine, family practice or pediatrics sports medicine fellowship program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

5. American Board of Emergency Medicine.

Offers a sports medicine certification, following successful completion of ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowship.

Certification in the subspecialty of Sports Medicine is available to diplomates of the American Board of Emergency Medicine and American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine, who fulfill the eligibility criteria and pass the subspecialty examination. ABEM co-sponsors this subspecialty with the American Board of Family Medicine, the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Pediatrics, and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

6. American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Offers a subspecialty certification in sports medicine from ABPMR, following successful completion of ACGME accredited sports medicine fellowship, etc.

Because sports medicine is recognized as an interdisciplinary specialty, the ABPMR cosponsors subspecialty certification in sports medicine along with the American Board of Family Medicine and three other boards. This means that the ABPMR credentials and issues sports medicine subspecialty certificates for ABPMR diplomates, but the ABFM is responsible for examination development, administration, scoring, and analysis.

Hope this information is useful to you!

 

[jadedphysiotherapist]

.quote. Post

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

A few things to consider........

The training pathway to sports med from a physician through the ACGME is rather long, unecessary, and superfluous, sorry.

It's post IM/FM/Ortho which is fine, but it's very long following the accepted training for those fields. If you get in, then you can get in and my goal is you're to get your field into my group, brother.

Physios are within the market for treatment as well as discharge for post concussion that works very very well.......given what is taught in school vs allopathic medicine and proper insurance payment (from the school I trained at).....yet.

PState laws are changing as vestibular and concussion therapists are very very slowly gaining legal authority....plain and simply because we're actually the ones treating those patients. Instead of physicians..........

If you can link up with a physio that treats concussion and you become confident in their treatment and that it will be absolutely excellent for your business. You can stabilize post pharmaceutical tx, pass off for physio treatment and have a comanagement for return to sport or activity that takes both opinions into account. If that gives a positive outcome, which research is showing it is more and more, then that helps both fields and contributes to interdisciplinary care.

If you want to work with this population, then link up with physios in your state for interdisciplinary comanagements that will continue treatment post stabilization.

It's integrated year after year in education......and can provide great interdisciplinary cooperation, if we acknowledge the placements in our population for patients. What helps you is our correct pass off and continuity of care while the patient reviews still hit you based off of their interaction with you

The heck did I just read?

 

[TheOneAndOnlyJamesFranco]

If the goal is to go the surgical route of orthopedics and then sports med., is there anything you can/need to do during medical school and residency to put you in a position to work with athletes specifically?

 

[Tenk]

The heck did I just read?

Not a clue.

 

[hunterjumper14]

If the goal is to go the surgical route of orthopedics and then sports med., is there anything you can/need to do during medical school and residency to put you in a position to work with athletes specifically?

The same recommendations you will hear for anyone shooting for a highly competitive specialty: high board scores (step 1 and 2), research (preferably ortho), get to know your home department, shoot for AOA, and do several away rotations. Get an ortho residency spot and then focus on sports. There are usually plenty of opportunities to work with athletes in most programs. If you want to, you can make your research sports focused. But better to have some publishable ortho research than set your heart on fruitless sports research

 

[CherryRedDracul]

A few things to consider........

The training pathway to sports med from a physician through the ACGME is rather long, unecessary, and superfluous, sorry.

It's post IM/FM/Ortho which is fine, but it's very long following the accepted training for those fields. If you get in, then you can get in and my goal is you're to get your field into my group, brother.

Physios are within the market for treatment as well as discharge for post concussion that works very very well.......given what is taught in school vs allopathic medicine and proper insurance payment (from the school I trained at).....yet.

PState laws are changing as vestibular and concussion therapists are very very slowly gaining legal authority....plain and simply because we're actually the ones treating those patients. Instead of physicians..........

If you can link up with a physio that treats concussion and you become confident in their treatment and that it will be absolutely excellent for your business. You can stabilize post pharmaceutical tx, pass off for physio treatment and have a comanagement for return to sport or activity that takes both opinions into account. If that gives a positive outcome, which research is showing it is more and more, then that helps both fields and contributes to interdisciplinary care.

If you want to work with this population, then link up with physios in your state for interdisciplinary comanagements that will continue treatment post stabilization.

It's integrated year after year in education......and can provide great interdisciplinary cooperation, if we acknowledge the placements in our population for patients. What helps you is our correct pass off and continuity of care while the patient reviews still hit you based off of their interaction with you

I think you maaaaaay be jumping the gun here. OP's just asking about the possible pathways into sports medicine.

 

[TXPMR]

Hello,

I'm curious at the different routes to get into sports medicine. I've done some research and find that you can apply to sports medicine fellowships following residencies in several specialties (such as internal, family, pm&r, etc.), but I haven't found an non surgical orthopedic residency as a possible route. Do they exist? Also, which residency would be the best when trying to work with athletes and/or become a team doctor? I am not that interested in orthopedic per say, so I'm looking at non-surgical routes.

Below is my rundown of the different traditional paths to doing sports medicine that I've posted elsewhere:

Most "head team physicians" among the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL are orthopaedic surgery trained. However, every one of these teams have non-operative physicians who are a part of the medical staff as well. So, there is someone to take care of the ortho/operative side and someone to take care of the medical/non-operative ortho side. Also, among other sports such as minor league professional teams, boxing/combat sports, and Olympic sports, "head team physicians" have wide ranging training backgrounds.

That said, here's my typical run down of pathways to sports med:

1. Orthopaedic surgery: very competitive, need great board scores. HAVE to like surgery. Residency is grueling but practice, depending on setting, can be very busy to cush-ish. Fast track to "head team physician" for major pro teams if that's your thing. Not as much training in non-operative MSK medicine compared to PM&R. Great pay all around. Only orthopaedic surgery trained physicians can do orthopaedic surgery sports medicine fellowships.

2. PM&R/physiatry: generally less competitive but getting a lot more competitive especially at the "top" places. Have to get over the fact that when you say you are PM&R/a physiatrist most people are like "huh"? (this can actually be a hang up for people). Otherwise have to like a lot of different areas: neuro, ortho, a little bit of medicine. If it's your thing, out all the other paths to sports med docdom PM&R is second to ortho in terms of procedures available (interventional spine, US injections, EMGs). AWESOME lifestyle. Actually great pay when you consider the hours/relative lack of stress involved. PM&R trained physicians are eligible for PM&R based ACGME fellowships (for which only PM&R physicians can do) and primary care/family medicine based fellowships.

3. FM: competitive to not competitive at all: can literally walk in to some of the lower tiered FM programs (but they may not have any sports/MSK faculty). Great jumping off point for the medical care of the athlete since your backbone is the medical care of all ages and types. Much less neuro compared to PM&R and much less ortho compared to ortho/PM&R. But you will be THE medicine guru when it comes to athletes. Ok lifestyle depending on your practice mix. Pay is moderate.

4. IM: competitive to not competitive at all. Have a medicine backbone like FM but get MUCH less outpatient exposure these days in residency in most places. Even at some of the top IM residencies in the country, IM residents come out with the MSK knowledge of medical student. So IM residents interested in sports really have to push for outpatient MSK/sports exposure since most programs aren't geared that way. Plus as mentioned IM residents never really take care of kids which is a minus for a well rounded sports doc. Lifestyle can be what you make it. Pay can actually be pretty high if you take hospitalist type jobs on the side.

5. Peds: competitive to not competitive at all. Have an excellent pediatric medicine backbone and good training in outpatient medicine, but in general, peds residents are relatively deficient in adult sports medicine when coming out of residency compared to all other specialties that feed into sports med. Lifestyle can be what you make it depending if you have a strictly outpatient practice vs. urgent care vs. part-time hospitalist. Pay varies from low to high depending on your practice set up.

5. EM: competitive to moderately competitive...in general you have to actually be a decent candidate to match into any EM program. AWESOME at taking care of acute issues/injuries medical and MSK related, not so awesome at longitudinally taking care of patients (or at least not part of the core residency training at most places). Lifestyle and pay is what you make it depending on how many ER shifts you take on the side.

 

[TXPMR]

I was also very interested in this coming into medical school and did not change my mind until 3rd year (I'd still love to do that, but it's a little too specialized and I picked a field that I liked in a much broader sense). Unfortunately, there are no non-surgical orthopedic residencies, so if you're interested in the orthopedic route you're going to have to go all in and then specialize later.

Imo, the best route to take if you want to become a team physician at a high level (pro or D1 college) is to go the orthopedic route. PM&R would potentially allow you to work with athletes a great deal as well, but you'd have to go into private practice and do some serious marketing/networking to attract specifically athletes. I'm sure it could be done, but it's much harder than going the ortho route and doing a fellowship in sports med.

I have met numerous physicians who were team physicians for professional teams and several semi-pro and college teams. All of them were orthopedists. You can certainly focus on sports medicine in other fields, but Imo it's much harder to do. All the FM guys I know that did a fellowship in sports med still see all the same patients that all the other FM docs see but maybe see a few more athletes than they would otherwise. I don't know PM&R sports med docs, so you'll have to ask around about that. I also don't know any IM sports med docs (didn't think they had that as a fellowship), but I'd guess it would be the same as FM.

Not sure where you're getting your data/info from. It is true that at the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL level most of the "head team physicians" are orthopaedic surgeons. However, as mentioned in my previous post above every single one of these teams have on their physician staff, non-orthopaedic surgeons (for example, see this 2011 list from the NFL). When it comes to D1 football and men's basketball most of the "head team physicians" are orthopaedic surgeons...and again, these teams have non-surgical physicians as part of the medical team. Aside from D1 football and men's basketball (e.g. D1 women's basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, track and field, etc.) you will see a wide range of training backgrounds who are the head team physicians. Same thing goes for minor league professional teams, boxing/combat sports, and Olympic sports.

Being affiliated with an academic institution (vs. private) is a great avenue into pro sports. Most pro sports medical coverage is done via marketing deals (e.g. the medical group pays the pro team to the be "official medical provider" of said team). So, often large academic centers have the cash to fork over to the teams. And BY FAR the best avenue to into D1 sports medicine (regardless of primary specialty) is being affiliated with an academic institution since many D1 programs are at schools that already have academic medical centers...so the sports med docs at those institutions by default become team physicians for their university's sports. Off the top of my head I can't think of any D1 program with an affiliated academic medical center that uses as their primary team docs, sports med docs outside of their institution.

I'll also add that it is a very very small number of "sports medicine physicians" in any specialty that mostly see elite/high level athletes in their clinics. There simply aren't enough hurt elite athletes around to make a consistent living on. So, the clinical practices of most sports med docs are supported by weekend warrior types and often chronic/degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis.

 

[Ophthoseidon]

I think you maaaaaay be jumping the gun here. OP's just asking about the possible pathways into sports medicine.

I'm not sure if he's quite jumping the gun. The post is pretty incoherent to me so it may be of some use if translated.

 

[Stagg737]

Not sure where you're getting your data/info from. It is true that at the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL level most of the "head team physicians" are orthopaedic surgeons. However, as mentioned in my previous post above every single one of these teams have on their physician staff, non-orthopaedic surgeons (for example, see this 2011 list from the NFL). When it comes to D1 football and men's basketball most of the "head team physicians" are orthopaedic surgeons...and again, these teams have non-surgical physicians as part of the medical team. Aside from D1 football and men's basketball (e.g. D1 women's basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, track and field, etc.) you will see a wide range of training backgrounds who are the head team physicians. Same thing goes for minor league professional teams, boxing/combat sports, and Olympic sports.

Being affiliated with an academic institution (vs. private) is a great avenue into pro sports. Most pro sports medical coverage is done via marketing deals (e.g. the medical group pays the pro team to the be "official medical provider" of said team). So, often large academic centers have the cash to fork over to the teams. And BY FAR the best avenue to into D1 sports medicine (regardless of primary specialty) is being affiliated with an academic institution since many D1 programs are at schools that already have academic medical centers...so the sports med docs at those institutions by default become team physicians for their university's sports. Off the top of my head I can't think of any D1 program with an affiliated academic medical center that uses as their primary team docs, sports med docs outside of their institution.

I'll also add that it is a very very small number of "sports medicine physicians" in any specialty that mostly see elite/high level athletes in their clinics. There simply aren't enough hurt elite athletes around to make a consistent living on. So, the clinical practices of most sports med docs are supported by weekend warrior types and often chronic/degenerative conditions like osteoarthritis.

I was getting my info from personal experience with physicians from 5 professional league teams, several D3 colleges, and a D1 school. Of the 20 or so team physicians I met (not just head, but team staff physicians), only 1 or 2 were non-orthopods. Maybe my info was off, but from personal experience with a bunch of different docs the vast majority were orthos and they all said that was the best way to enter sports med (including those 1 or 2 family med docs).

 

[PM&ARGH]

It all boils down to what you want to do. I was an athletic trainer at a D1 college for years before heading in to medical school. I feel I have a relatively good grasp on what each route entails. Overall, the main route to sports fellowships are FM vs PM&R vs Ortho. These fellowships generally differ in what they offer training wise as below:

-FM sports is primary care geared-managing basic medical needs of athletes including basic MSK complaints.
-PM&R is interventional geared toward minimally invasive procedural emphasis, ultrasound guided injections, regenerative medicine, fluoroscopy guided axial and peripheral injections etc.
-Orthopedics is obviously surgically oriented.

Obviously there is a ton of crossover as sports med is sports med--but in general people tend to focus on different things coming out of the different specialties as the fellowships emphasize different interventions.

All have the potential to become a team doc after completing a sports medicine fellowship in their respective discipline, however it is most common for elite level (professional) teams to have an orthopedic surgeon as the "team physician"--these doctors usually pay the team for the "privilege" to call themselves the team doc for these teams . Not to say that PM&R and FM sports specialists don't hold those positions, it's just less common at that level. Plenty of FM sports docs work at the collegiate and high school level as the "head" team doc. Also, most of the primary care sports doctors I worked with at the collegiate level also maintained worked as a general PCP seeing the normal FM type things in their clinic.

 

[RickHarrison]

It all boils down to what you want to do. I was an athletic trainer at a D1 college for years before heading in to medical school. I feel I have a relatively good grasp on what each route entails. Overall, the main route to sports fellowships are FM vs PM&R vs Ortho. These fellowships generally differ in what they offer training wise as below:

-FM sports is primary care geared-managing basic medical needs of athletes including basic MSK complaints.
-PM&R is interventional geared toward minimally invasive procedural emphasis, ultrasound guided injections, regenerative medicine, fluoroscopy guided axial and peripheral injections etc.
-Orthopedics is obviously surgically oriented.

Obviously there is a ton of crossover as sports med is sports med--but in general people tend to focus on different things coming out of the different specialties as the fellowships emphasize different interventions.

All have the potential to become a team doc after completing a sports medicine fellowship in their respective discipline, however it is most common for elite level (professional) teams to have an orthopedic surgeon as the "team physician"--these doctors usually pay the team for the "privilege" to call themselves the team doc for these teams . Not to say that PM&R and FM sports specialists don't hold those positions, it's just less common at that level. Plenty of FM sports docs work at the collegiate and high school level as the "head" team doc. Also, most of the primary care sports doctors I worked with at the collegiate level also maintained worked as a general PCP seeing the normal FM type things in their clinic.

Very helpful post! I'm an M3 looking at going into sports med.
- I know that FM sports offer procedural and injection training. As it pertains to sports med, what are procedures that would give pm&r an advantage over FM.
- Also where do you see the future of sports med heading for pm&r
- Finally, how viable would sports pm&r be in a D2 college town of 25k?

 

[PM&ARGH]

Very helpful post! I'm an M3 looking at going into sports med.
- I know that FM sports offer procedural and injection training. As it pertains to sports med, what are procedures that would give pm&r an advantage over FM.
- Also where do you see the future of sports med heading for pm&r
- Finally, how viable would sports pm&r be in a D2 college town of 25k?

-PM&R sports medicine would typically be much more interventional in nature than a primary care sports fellowship. Things that would be common for PM&R and likely not taught in a FM sports fellowship would be fluoroscopic guided spine interventions. From what I have seen, one spends much more time doing procedures vs "clinic" in a PM&R sports fellowship vs a primary care sports fellowship. One could potentially base a whole practice on axial fluoro guided interventions coming out of PM&R sports...I am not aware of any FM sports programs that even focus on this.

-your 2nd question is hard to answer. Sky is the limit?... Technology is allowing many more things to be handled on a minimally invasive basis. So potentially the future if you choose to do interventional physiatry could be very lucrative. Many people practice general comprehensive MSK medicine coming out of PM&R--basically sports medicine but not with a "team" per se. More of an all inclusive neuromusculoskeletal clinic type of thing.

-At a D2 small college town, I'd be willing to bet that being ACGME boarded out of any one of the aforementioned specialties could potentially land you the team physician job if you want it. Realize that networking and who you know plays a large part in gaining these types of positions as well...

 

[Waterlover]

Is it realistic to do EM and a sports fellowship? Do you know of anybody who does that?

 

[PM&ARGH]

Is it realistic to do EM and a sports fellowship? Do you know of anybody who does that?

Yes, people do it--it's less common overall I'd say, but it is realistic. Many of my EM colleagues have told me they deferred pursuing this though because they "would take a pay cut" haha

 

[Doctor-S]

Is it realistic to do EM and a sports fellowship? Do you know of anybody who does that?

1. Yes ... especially if an individual is seriously interested in sports medicine and might want to become a team physician on the side, probably on a limited, part-time basis. Just so you know ... many team physicians (e.g., at D1 level) are "voluntary" team physicians (or associated with the medical school faculty at their D1 school).
2. Yes ... although they are employed in EM on a full-time compensated basis. It's important to remember that certain sports-related injuries (e.g., ortho/neuro) might merit urgent/full-service care ... so a sideline EM sports medicine trained physician will often order the patient to hospital/ED for evaluation, treatment, care, etc.

 

[Michael Griffin]

It is good to hear that you have interest in Sports Medicine. this sector is vast and mainly deals with injuries that are related with sports. There are various such courses and programs available for the sports medicine. You can read some blog to have a look about the Varied Types of Sports Injuries related to your degrees and qualification of a sports medicine doctor who is highly experienced in this field.

 

[Alakazam123]

It all boils down to what you want to do. I was an athletic trainer at a D1 college for years before heading in to medical school. I feel I have a relatively good grasp on what each route entails. Overall, the main route to sports fellowships are FM vs PM&R vs Ortho. These fellowships generally differ in what they offer training wise as below:

-FM sports is primary care geared-managing basic medical needs of athletes including basic MSK complaints.
-PM&R is interventional geared toward minimally invasive procedural emphasis, ultrasound guided injections, regenerative medicine, fluoroscopy guided axial and peripheral injections etc.
-Orthopedics is obviously surgically oriented.

Obviously there is a ton of crossover as sports med is sports med--but in general people tend to focus on different things coming out of the different specialties as the fellowships emphasize different interventions.

All have the potential to become a team doc after completing a sports medicine fellowship in their respective discipline, however it is most common for elite level (professional) teams to have an orthopedic surgeon as the "team physician"--these doctors usually pay the team for the "privilege" to call themselves the team doc for these teams . Not to say that PM&R and FM sports specialists don't hold those positions, it's just less common at that level. Plenty of FM sports docs work at the collegiate and high school level as the "head" team doc. Also, most of the primary care sports doctors I worked with at the collegiate level also maintained worked as a general PCP seeing the normal FM type things in their clinic.

I know this is coming after a while but....you don't get paid to work for a sports team as their doctor? Rather you have to pay them??

Man, that sounds like a bad deal. I read somewhere else too, that sports-med orthopedic surgeons don't really get compensated for their work. If this is true, then:

1) Sounds like a terrible specialty
2) How do they make ends meet?

 

[whatisthisstuff]

I know this is coming after a while but....you don't get paid to work for a sports team as their doctor? Rather you have to pay them??

Man, that sounds like a bad deal. I read somewhere else too, that sports-med orthopedic surgeons don't really get compensated for their work. If this is true, then:

1) Sounds like a terrible specialty
2) How do they make ends meet?

Its more for pro sports teams, sports groups will have contracts with the teams to provide coverage for that team. Being able to say they are the physicians for whatever sports team is good marketing.

The not getting paid for their work thing probably refers to event/game coverage. As in they don't get paid extra for covering these things but is usually a part of their contract for the group and then the coverage is disbursed throughout the providers. However this is not the only way this is done as I know some people do get paid for event coverage (and residents can do this for extra money at some places).

 

[Alakazam123]

Its more for pro sports teams, sports groups will have contracts with the teams to provide coverage for that team. Being able to say they are the physicians for whatever sports team is good marketing.

The not getting paid for their work thing probably refers to event/game coverage. As in they don't get paid extra for covering these things but is usually a part of their contract for the group and then the coverage is disbursed throughout the providers. However this is not the only way this is done as I know some people do get paid for event coverage (and residents can do this for extra money at some places).

Awesome, thank you!! I'm still a pre-med so I still got a ways to think about all this I suppose. But man, I think the information is too good to overlook sometimes haha.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Awesome, thank you!! I'm still a pre-med so I still got a ways to think about all this I suppose. But man, I think the information is too good to overlook sometimes haha.

Sports medicine is becoming more popular. They handle most of the problems the orthopedists aren't interested in handling, concussions, sprains, strains, simple fractures ,rehab, etc. They are basically the Family Doc for the team. I know one who was team physician for a noted D1 football team . Also know a orthopedist for a local pro sports team, they make far less than you might think.
Several larger ortho groups in our area have a medical sports Doc in their group to handle these issies. So good luck and best wishes

 

[Alakazam123]

Sports medicine is becoming more popular. They handle most of the problems the orthopedists aren't interested in handling, concussions, sprains, strains, simple fractures ,rehab, etc. They are basically the Family Doc for the team. I know one who was team physician for a noted D1 football team . Also know a orthopedist for a local pro sports team, they make far less than you might think.
Several larger ortho groups in our area have a medical sports Doc in their group to handle these issies. So good luck and best wishes

Thank you for your kind response sir, I hope that I one day can join the elite ranks of surgeons. But first...getting a good MCAT score (I'm on my 3rd retake...my 2nd one dropped lower than the 1st eeek!!!), and then strengthening my application...and then finally...maybe...getting into orthopedic surgery.

Man, medicine is indeed a path of delayed gratification, but certainly a rewarding one at that haha.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Thank you for your kind response sir, I hope that I one day can join the elite ranks of surgeons. But first...getting a good MCAT score (I'm on my 3rd retake...my 2nd one dropped lower than the 1st eeek!!!), and then strengthening my application...and then finally...maybe...getting into orthopedic surgery.

Man, medicine is indeed a path of delayed gratification, but certainly a rewarding one at that haha.

Best wishes and good luck!