Sports Medicine Physicians
Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities.
Also called: Athletic Team Physician · Nonsurgical Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician · Orthopedic Team Physician · Physician · Sports Medicine Physician · Team Physician
Median pay (national)
$239,200+
$66,860–$239,200+ (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
315,360
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+2.5%
~9,600 openings/yr
Typical entry
Doctoral or professional degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for sports medicine physicians shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $239,200+ versus $66,860 at the bottom 10% — 3.6x. The median of $239,200+ leaves roughly 0% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +2.5% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 9,600 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 52 states with released data, Texas pays the most for this role (median $239,200, 0% vs the national median), while District of Columbia sits lowest at $74,650 — a 220% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Epic Systems as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Learning Strategies
- Science
- Mathematics
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
- Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries.
- Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes.
- Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites.
- Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
- Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
- Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records.
- Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.
- Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches.
- Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.
Tools & technology
- Epic Systems
- eClinicalWorks EHR software
- 3D motion analysis software
- Allscripts PM
- athenahealth athenaCollector
- Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR
- Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR
- Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
- CareCloud Central
- Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management
- Epic Practice Management
- GalacTek ECLIPSE
- GE Healthcare Centricity Practice Solution
- Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE
- HealthFusion MediTouch
- IOS Health Systems Medios EHR
Knowledge areas
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Biology
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Psychology
- Chemistry