SPORTS MEDICINE PHYSICIAN SALARIES

The next time you hear someone flaunting the term "Sports Medicine" - be sure to ask - "Which Type ? Orthopedic or Primary Care Type?" ;-)

Yes - there are two categories of "sports Medicine" physicians - the Surgical and the Medical. Primary Care Sports Medicine is a Fellowship option available after Family Medicine (e.g. UC Davis Sports Medicine Program) or in some places even after an Internal Medicine and/or an Emergency medicine Residency (For e.g. Mayo Clinic, FL Sports Medicine Program).

On the other hand, an Orthopedic or Surgical Sports Medicine is the most sought after fellowship after Orthopedic Surgery Residency (For e.g. Rush University Sports Medicine Program).

Whatever the 'type' may be, the competition is pretty intense for this well paying specialty and are pretty competitive. The orthopedic sports medicine docs usually make way more than the primary care sports medicine docs.

The averages for the latter usually hover in the 180,000 to 230,000 a year, depending on state, hours of practice, and other variables - which have been very well discussed in a 2008 journal article: "The practice of Primary Care Sports Medicine in the USA" by Jason J Diehi.

Quoting the abstract (2006 Survey Data Figures):

"The average salary for all physicians was $166 000 US. Higher-income groups included: men ($172 000 vs $132 000 for women); regions including Central, South East, and South West; full professors; and non-student health or urgent care clinical work. With control for all other variables, four groups demonstrated significantly higher odds of being high income earners (annual gross salary > $200 000 US). These groups included age over 40, male sex, practice owner, and seeing over 10 patients per half day. "

Read more here


Q. How long does it take to become a Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician ?

A. Hmmmmm..3 Years in Primary care residency followed by a 1 or 2-year fellowship program training in Sports Medicine. For example, the Medical College of Wisconsin has a one-year program while the Vanderbilt University Medical Center has a two-year program, while some may have the second-year optional.


Q. Can a Primary care sports Medicine Fellowship be done only after completing a Residency in Family medicine ?
A. Oh Despair not people - while some programs may require family medicine board eligibility or certification, many programs take in candidates with training in Internal medicine, Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics as well.



Shall be updating this post about the Orthopedic Sports Medicine Salaries Soon...





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