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Pediatric Sports Medicine Physician - Career Profile |
Career OverviewPediatric sports medicine physicians diagnose patients, supply the necessary treatments and manage the medical problems and musculoskeletal problems in young children through the teenage years. When a teenager or child has an illness or injury that affects their sports activity, performance or exercise, a doctor normally refers them to a pediatric sports medicine physician.
Because children are still growing, their conditions and injuries are often very different from the injuries and conditions more commonly treated in adults and older patients.
A pediatric sports medicine physician has the qualifications, experience and special training necessary to treat a teen or child’s specific, sports-related problems and medical needs. These physicians also have the equipment and training needed to not only examine but also determine the nature of a problem and then improve or remedy the condition or illness in the children and teenagers.
Some of the many problems a pediatric sports medicine physician deals with in children are:
- Tendinitis – this is inflammation of a tendon
- Fractures - breaking of bone or hard tissue and minor avulsions/forcible tearing or separation
- Ligament injuries – damage to the band or sheet of fibrous tissue that connects bones, organs, cartilage or supporting muscles
- Strains and sprains – injury to muscles or joints
- Overuse injuries
- Dislocations – displacement of a bone
- Heat illness
- Asthma - respiratory disorder that is sometimes triggered by exercise
- Stress fractures – fracture caused by strain on a physical body part
- Concussions
- Special needs athletes with unique conditions
- Cartilage injuries – tough elastic tissue
- Diabetes
- Supplement and nutrition issues
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Career RequirementsFormal training and education for pediatric sports medicine physicians are very demanding. They require four years of undergraduate school as well as four years of medical school. Once completed, there is an additional three years of general pediatric residency training with two years of training in sports medicine.
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Job OutlookPediatric sports medicine physicians have a very promising employment outlook due to the need for additional experienced sports medicine physicians, surgeons and health professionals. As people are living longer than ever before, along with the population increase, they predict a continuous growth in the need for medical professionals.
With the new technologies, therapies and diagnostic testing available, consumers keep demanding high levels of health care. Unlike years ago when the family doctor dealt with sport injuries, young athletes request or are referred to pediatric sports medicine physicians, trained specifically to deal with the patients injuries, which increases the need for this specialty physician.
It is expected that opportunities for persons interested in becoming a pediatric sports medicine physician are exceedingly good. There are shortages in some geographic areas such as rural and low-income that have job opening that need filling.
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Career TrackA pediatric sports medicine physician often starts their career working in medical settings such as children’s hospitals, large community hospitals and university medical centers. After leaving hospital work, many physicians choose to go into private practice, private clinics, multi-specialty groups and sports medicine clinics. Others enter into research and teaching.
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CompensationThe annual salary for a pediatric sports medicine physician ranges from approximately $179,000 to over $229,000.
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