Annie Said:

How Do I Become a Sports Medicine Doctor? Kinesiology?

We Answered:

The above poster is somewhat accurate, but there are a couple of mistakes in the post.

You will need a bachelors degree, which usually takes 4 years at an undergraduate institution. You do NOT have to major is science or "premed." Very few schools actually have a premed major. The only requirements are to take general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, math, and english. You can major in whatever you like as long as you take those courses. You also need to take the MCAT, a big standardized exam for medical school entry.

Once you've been accepted to medical school, it takes 4 years to earn your MD or DO. Then, you can do a residency in sports medicine, which can either be an offshoot of kinesiology or orthopedics.

Laurie Said:

Should I become a sports medicine doctor?

We Answered:

Explore all the possibilities of sports medicine and then make up your mind. You could be a doctor, teacher of sports medicine, trainer, nurse specialist, or physician's assistant, just to name a few of the areas you could make a career out of.

And, who knows? Maybe your love of sports medicine will push you to become a very well-known expert in that field.

GO FOR IT!

Eduardo Said:

what majors do i need to become a sports medicine doctor?

We Answered:

To go to medical school you can major in anything as long as you take all pre-med courses required by your school.
Popular majors for med students are things like biology, microbiology, biochemistry, cell biology, and related fields. If you want to go into sports medicine then you might look into kinesiology or exercise science.
These are very popular majors and many schools in NY will offer them.

Jamie Said:

What is the pay and requirements for a sports medicine doctor?

We Answered:

The article states correctly the kind of job sports medicine is about. They are usually employed by colleges or professional sports teams to prevent and treat sports related injuries.

What I do disagree is the part that they require your undergrad degree to be science related. To enter med school in the US, you could get a degree in ANYTHING. You could get a degree in lumberjacking and get into med school as long as you do the required courses and the MCAT with a high enough GPA to be competitive.

Once you finish med school, you do at least one year of internal medicine residency and then can switch your training to specifically sports medicine. You could also complete a 3-4 year IM residency and then do a sports medicine fellowship and become board certified in two specialties at the same time.

Sports medicine in my opinion is very similar to rehabilitation & pain management medicine but with a lower focus on the anesthesiology aspect of the pain management specialty.

PS: I personally think the salary average is too high for a non surgical specialty. Not everyone works for the NBA or the NFL. A more realistic salary average would be between 200,000 to 250,000 dollars a year without counting taxes or malpractice insurance which will probably cut the salary by 33%.

Lori Said:

Is 30 - 32 a good age for a sports medicine doctor?

We Answered:

That's pretty well standard. If you're going into medicine, it's going to cost you that decade of your life. It's one of the under-appreciated details.

Tom Said:

What is the difference between a physiotherapist and a Sports Medicine doctor?

We Answered:

A physiotherapist assess the musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiac condition and also deals in the field of sports injury and after diagnosing, treat the patient by means of physical exercises and use therapeutic electrical modalities in the course of improvement in the condition.Physiotherapist plays an important role in achieving the full range of motion, strength, flexibility and agility of a sports person and guides the athlete throughout the rehabilitation process.
A sports medicine doctor can assess and diagnose the sports injuries and prescribes the drugs in the coarse of treatment. Sports medicine doctors are most commonly associated with injuries to the joints, muscles and bones.
Career wise both have respectable jobs but,it requires the perfection in practical skills to become a good physiotherapist whereas a sports medicine doctor requires to be updated with the complete knowledge of drugs which can be prescribed to a sports person.
If physiotherapy college depending on the rank in exam. Bachelor of Physiotherapy is four and half years degree course including 6 months of internship.
To become a Sports Medicine doctor it requires completion 12th standard from science stream(grade requirement depends upon the university) then after competition exam you can get the admission in a medical college. After five and half years of study you have to go for a 6 months of diploma in relevant field then you will be eligible to call as a sports medicine doctor.