Medical Student

Like many specialties, one of the best ways to set yourself up for success in a subspecialty area is to first succeed in your core activities throughout medical school, gaining relevant clinical experience and networking early.

During your M3 year, you should focus on building a strong foundation.

• Prioritize excellence in core rotations, especially emergency medicine (EM) and family medicine.
• Seek early exposure to sports medicine by shadowing or assisting with event coverage (e.g., high school football games, marathons).
• Connect with mentors in EM and sports medicine to explore career pathways.

During your M4 year, you should focus on strengthening your application.

• Schedule an EM sub-internship at your home institution or an away rotation at a program of interest.
• Take a sports medicine elective or arrange one at a program with a primary care sports medicine (PCSM) fellowship.
• Get involved in research or case reports related to sports injuries.
• Attend sports medicine conferences to network with fellowship-trained physicians.
• Consider applying for EM residency programs with strong sports medicine tracks or faculty with expertise in the field.

In summary, as you plan more specialized paths throughout your last two years, you may consider pursuing activities that get you to both the residency that leads to sports medicine and sports medicine itself. Having a solid foundation in EM rotations and involving yourself in EM research or meeting physicians from the field are a great way to start and see if this path is right for you.

Get Involved with Sports Medicine

Building experience in both EM and sports medicine requires taking advantage of local clinical opportunities while also engaging with national organizations and events.

Local Involvement

• Volunteer for activities offered by your medical school that involve sports medicine, such as sideline coverage at high school, college, or local sporting events.
• Join EM or sports medicine interest groups at your medical school to connect with peers and faculty. Many of these are linked to national societies - and if they don't exist, consider starting a chapter at your program.
• Pursue an elective in sports medicine offered by your medical school or arrange a rotation or shadowing experience at nearby programs.

National Involvement

Sports medicine is a very connected specialty nationally, and there are lots of ways to interact with the different academic and professional organizations, such as:

• Participating in education webinars and workshops that are offered both in-person and online.
• Attending meetings or conferences where you may even be able to present posters or oral presentations of academic work you've been doing.
• Participating in journal clubs or other creative outlets.

Remember, sports medicine is rooted in the medical side of physical activity, so there are also many non-academic ways to be involved, such as outreach in your community to teams, volunteer organizations, or exercise groups.

Research Mandates

There is no research "mandate" for medical students who hope to pursue a career in sports medicine. However, research is a great way to make yourself a standout, especially for residency programs with reputable sports medicine departments that you may be interested in matching to. Thinking long-term, residents may often be pursuing research either officially as part of their scholarly projects or research time in residency, or outside of clinical time; pursuing sports medicine research in your free time or for a scholarly project during medical school may help you down the road. Regardless, it's also a great way to get exposure into the field as a medical student.

Residency Programs

Both three- and four-year EM residency programs meet the requirements for board certification and prepare physicians for fellowship training. The choice depends on career goals, learning style, and opportunities for sports medicine exposure. Three-year residency programs offer a faster path to fellowship as you complete residency and apply in the final year. They are also a more direct route to independent practice as less time in training means earlier career earnings. Four-year programs offer more time for electives, leadership roles, and sports medicine exposure (event coverage, research, rotations), and are preferred by those wanting additional training in administration, education, or research before applying to fellowship.

Keep in mind, your first goal is EM education. Once that is achieved, utilize elective and research time, in addition to integrating opportunities to pursue sports medicine experiences. Residency is demanding, so it's best to integrate early sports medicine exposure without compromising core EM training.