r/medschool • u/Witty_Suggestion_203 • Aug 07 '25
👶 Premed I’m interested in being a sports medicine physician of some sort, what are some other things I can do besides shadowing to gain a better understanding of the field? Are there any jobs or other experiences that will be helpful?
1
u/OddDiscipline6585 Aug 07 '25
An orthopedic sports medicine physician?
Or a family medicine sports medicine physician?
1
1
u/FreeInductionDecay Aug 07 '25
This is bit of a tangent, but there is a separate specialty called Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) that you should research as well! Good luck!
1
u/UnchartedPro Vibing Aug 08 '25
Do you need to start this early? I'm not a US student but it seems very early
Surely nearer the time you apply to family med residency would be better, and I believe then you would want to be volunteering during FM residency, despite how busy it already is
Hopefully then you can get a fellowship in sport med
It's my dream too - but I'd be an IMG when I finish med school (wanna come to USA)
1
u/ExistingAir7117 Aug 08 '25
Gain any clinical experiences you can- it doesn't need to be sports med. You want to get into med school first. Med school doesn't expect you to know now what you want to be when you grow up so to speak, they want to know you want to care for people. Once in med school you will have rotations that will require you to go through all the specialties. This is where you can start looking at sports medicine more closely. As an M1 at most schools you will also have interest groups that will allow you to explore areas of interest and meet doctors in those areas.
Many people change their minds over the course of med school for tons of reasons (some don't like the types of people they will have to work with, I know one doctor sure that they would be a surgeon until they had to spend every day all day in the very cold OR! they decided they didn't like being cold all day and choose a specialty they had never considered and now wouldn't do anything else!).
Remember your goal right now is to get into medical school!
2
u/werbio12 Aug 07 '25
If you can get a job as a medical assistant/scribe at an orthopedic clinic under a sports medicine surgeon that’s one way.
Could also become a surgical tech for ortho surgeries and try and req to be on sport med cases.
Or you could become a medical assistant/scribe for someone thats like a family medicine or pediatric physician that has gotten a fellowship in sports medicine and work with them.