How to Become a Sports Medicine Surgeon
Sports medicine surgeons treat conditions of the muscles and skeleton that occur due to sports-related injuries. They also teach patients how to prevent being injured in the future. This field is a subspecialty of orthopedics. It's an extremely competitive career to get into, even for graduates of medical school. It takes 14 years to complete the education and training needed to become a sports medicine surgeon.
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Instructions
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Get a bachelor's degree. Medical schools accept qualified applicants with a wide variety of undergraduate backgrounds, so it's not necessary to major in premed; however, you must get excellent grades and take a lot of science courses.
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Seek out experiences to learn about sports medicine as an undergraduate. Take classes in anatomy and physiology, exercise science and first aid. Get involved in sports medicine research, and go to conferences. It's also helpful to volunteer or get a part-time job related to the field. This could mean working in a hospital or private practice with an athletic team physician as a student trainer in college athletics or job shadowing.
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Apply for and get into medical school. This is a very competitive process, as a small percentage of applicants are accepted. You will need to fill out the American Medical College Application Service, get recommendations, write personal statements and attend interviews. Choose a medical school that is strong in the specialty of orthopedics by asking for recommendations from advisors, professors and doctors you've developed relationships with.
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Complete med school, which is much more rigorous than undergraduate education. The first 2 years are based in the classroom, and they include classes on the human body and how to diagnose and treat diseases. The third and fourth years are more focused on hospital rotations. During this time, continue developing relationships with mentors and looking for opportunities to get additional experience in sports medicine.
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Apply for an orthopedics surgery residency. This involves another round of competitive interviews. A program called the Match helps appoint students to residency sites around the country. One of the biggest factors in getting your top choice is having excellent recommendations from other professionals in the field, ideally those you worked with during your orthopedics rotation in medical school. To find the best residency programs, visit the Orthopedic Surgery Residency Ring (OSRR) website (see Resources) or ask an orthopedic surgeon.
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Complete your residency in orthopedic surgery. The first year is called an internship, which is followed by 4 more years of advanced training. This experience allows you to gain expert knowledge and skills by working in a variety of different hospitals. Take opportunities to focus on sports medicine whenever possible.
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Do a fellowship program to specialize in the sports medicine surgery area of orthopedics. This is an optional period of focused training that usually lasts for 1 year. Recommendations and prior experience are important for getting one of these elite fellowship spots. The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine provides information about fellowships in this field (see Resources). It's also possible to go into practice as an orthopedic doctor after residency, without focusing on sports medicine.
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Tips & Warnings
To get into medical school, you must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and get a high score. This exam covers language as well as biological and physical sciences. The National Board Exams take place at the end of the second and third years of medical school to test students' competency to become doctors. They must be passed in order to continue with your education.
