Sports Medicine Physicians
Health Science > Therapeutic ServicesProjected Growth: Faster than average
Projected Job Openings
Extensive Preparation Needed
Job Description
Your job is to Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities.
Common job titles of Sports Medicine Physicians include:
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Experience and Education
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
50.95% said they needed a Doctoral Degree.
49.05% said they needed a Post-Doctoral Training.
Tasks
Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes.
Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.
Coordinate sports care activities with other experts including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches.
Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing.
Record athletes' medical care information and maintain medical records.
Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.
Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries.
Record athletes' medical histories and perform physical examinations.
Advise coaches, trainers, or physical therapists on the proper use of exercises and other therapeutic techniques and alert them to potentially dangerous practices.
Prescribe orthotics, prosthetics, and adaptive equipment.
Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes.
Observe and evaluate athletes' mental well-being.
Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions.
Attend games and competitions to provide evaluation and treatment of activity-related injuries or medical conditions.
Advise athletes, trainers, or coaches to alter or cease sports practices that are potentially harmful.
Develop and prescribe exercise programs such as off-season conditioning regimens.
Participate in continuing education activities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills.
Provide coaches and therapists with assistance in selecting and fitting protective equipment.
Develop and test procedures for dealing with emergencies during practices or competitions.
Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries.
Inform athletes about nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, or uses and possible consequences of medication.
Conduct research in the prevention or treatment of injuries or medical conditions related to sports and exercise.
Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites.
Advise athletes on how substances, such as herbal remedies, could affect drug testing results.
Tools
Whirlpool tubs
Walking canes
Therapeutic weight sets
Therapeutic treadmills
Therapeutic parallel bars
Therapeutic diathermy machines
Tablet computers
All ToolsStair climbers
Sonic therapy units
Resistance bands
Pulse oximeters
Peak flow meters
Orthopedic splints
Neurological hammers
Muscle stimulators
Multipurpose electrotherapy units
Motion capture systems
Mechanical stethoscopes
Magnetic resonance imaging MRI equipment
Laptop computers
Knee braces
Iontophoresis equipment
Inclinometers
Heat therapy equipment
Hand dynamometers
Goniometers
Fitness balls
Exercise bikes
Electrocardiography EKG machines
Digital x ray machines
Digital spirometers
Diagnostic ultrasound scanners
Desktop computers
Custom orthotics
Cold therapy equipment
Cast boots
Bone densitometers
Body fat analyzers
Automated external defibrillators AED
Adjustable crutches
Technologies
3D motion analysis software
Allscripts PM
athenahealth athenaCollector
Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR
Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR
Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
CareCloud Central
All TechnologiesCerner PowerWorks Practice Management
eClinicalWorks Practice Management
Email software
Epic Practice Management
GalacTek ECLIPSE
GE Healthcare Centricity Practice Solution
Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE
HealthFusion MediTouch
IOS Health Systems Medios EHR
Kareo Practice Management
McKesson Practice Plus
Meditab IMS Orthopedics/Sports Medicine
Modernizing Medicine Practice Management
NextGen Healthcare NextGen Practice Management
OmniMD Sports Medicine EHR
PracticeSuite Complete Suite
Presagia Sports
simplifyMD
SpartaTrac
Vitera Healthcare Solutions Vitera Intergy
Web browser software
WRSHealth EMR
Skills
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Abilities
Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Comprehension
Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Problem Sensitivity
Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Comprehension
Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Expression
Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Inductive Reasoning
Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Expression
Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Deductive Reasoning
See details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Sensory Abilities › Visual Abilities › Near Vision