ABOUT SPORTS MEDICINE AND PATIENT CARE
The Sports Medicine Career Pathway is designed for students who are interested in Athletic Training, Physical Therapy, Medicine, Fitness, Nursing, EMT, Kinesiology, Nutrition, and other Sports Medicine related fields. Learn the basic skills and fundamentals of sports medicine, including how to prevent athletic injury and increase athletic performance. Students will study body mechanics, nutritional guidelines for maximizing performance, protective sports equipment, taping and bracing, psychological aspects of competition, and training and conditioning techniques. Field work within the healthcare community and with our athletic teams will be possible during the 3rd and 4th year of being in the program.
Is the industry growing?
The U.S. Department of Labor, projects a rate of growth of 20% or higher between 2008 and 2018 for the occupations of sports medicine physician, athletic trainer and physical therapist (http://online.onetcenter.org). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicted job growth between 2012 and 2022 would be 18% for all physicians and surgeons, which includes sports medicine doctors, 19% for athletic trainers, and 36% for physical therapists.
Careers
The Sports Medicine and Patient Care Sector requires academic and technical skills, as well as the related knowledge necessary for the field. These careers range from entry level to management, including technical and professional specialties. Sports medicine focuses on helping people improve their athletic performance, recover from injury and prevent future injuries. It is a fast-growing health care field, because health workers who specialize in sports medicine help many “regular” people as well as athletes. Sports medicine is a subspecialty of emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics.
Athletic Training, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Medicine, Fitness, Nursing, EMT (Emergency Medical Technicians), Kinesiotherapist, Nutrition, Exercise Physiologist, Doctor of Osteopathy, Health Services Administrators, Health Educators, Environmental Health Specialists, Medical Assistants, Biomedical Engineering