Sports physician

Sports medicine is an exciting and diverse speciality that deals with sports injuries and the specific medical needs of athletes. Sports medicine specialists can help people realise their full athletic potential. After completing specialist training in a chosen area of direct patient care, further training and experience in the field of sports medicine are required for the additional qualification of sports medicine.

What does a sports physician do?

The work of a sports physician is extremely varied. In his profession, this doctor diagnoses sports injuries, for example, and works together with the athlete to optimise their performance. Essentially, the tasks in sports medicine can be divided into 3 areas:

Prevention

A large part of the job of a sports physician involves prevention. Your aim is to minimise the risk of injury and keep athletes fit at all times. This includes advising on the correct warm-up and stretching routine, movement analyses and the assessment and optimisation of training plans. You will work closely with clubs and coaches to achieve this.

Depending on the performance category of the athlete and the type of sport, there are different requirements and focal points for prevention. As a sports physician, you must therefore not only be familiar with the general prevention strategies, but also with the individual specialities of the relevant areas.

Treatment of sports injuries

One of the core tasks of sports physicians is to treat injuries in such a way that they heal as quickly and completely as possible so that training can be resumed and the athlete is able to perform at full capacity.

Sports injuries are treated with different measures depending on the type and severity of the injury. These include, for example

• Physiotherapy
• Immobilisation of the affected area
• surgical interventions

Sports physicians specialise in providing the best possible treatment to ensure a speedy recovery and early return to sport. They often work on an interdisciplinary basis with specialists from other areas of medicine.

Rehabilitation

After an injury, the sports physician accompanies the athlete through the entire rehabilitation process. This includes the creation of individual rehabilitation programmes that are tailored to the patient's specific needs.

Exercises to restore mobility and strength are important, but the intensity must be adjusted so that the rehabilitation training does not lead to new injuries or overloading.

Sports medicine is neither a separate degree programme nor a complete specialist training course

If you want to become a sports physician, you will need to study medicine. There is no separate degree programme in sports medicine. The assumption that further training to become a sports physician is a separate specialist training programme is also incorrect. Instead, it is an additional further training programme reserved for specialists in various disciplines.

This means that you first have to complete a six-year degree programme and then further training to become a specialist. Including the additional further training in sports medicine, you should therefore expect it to take around 13-14 years after your studies, depending on the specialist area, until you are a qualified sports physician.

Various places of work for sports physicians

Sports medicine specialists work in many different places. They are in demand in clinics and rehabilitation centres, for example, where they are an ideal complement to specialists from other areas of medicine.

As a specialised sports doctor, you can also become self-employed and treat patients in your own practice.

Many sports physicians work in large clubs. Most people first think of professional sport, where comprehensive care of athletes by specialised doctors is common.

However, many sports clubs also rely on professional support from a specialised doctor for recreational and disabled sports. There you can, for example, develop preventative measures against sports injuries and lack of exercise.

Training to become a doctor with the additional qualification of sports medicine

If sports medicine specialist is your dream job, you have a long way to go before you can use this job title and work in the relevant jobs.

Your path begins with a degree in medicine, followed by training as a specialist and then actual training in sports medicine.

We would now like to provide you with some more detailed information on the individual steps.

Prerequisites

To become a sports physician, you need a high school diploma or a comparable university entrance qualification. A strong interest in sport and medicine is also important. Ideally, you should be an athlete yourself.

Social skills and communication skills play an important role. After all, once you have completed your apprenticeship, you will be dealing with a wide range of tasks and a wide variety of people.

It definitely makes sense to gain experience in a sports club or as a volunteer for sports organisations before you start your studies. This will give you a better idea of whether sports medicine is really the field you want to specialise in.

Authorisation procedure

Medicine is one of the admission-restricted degree programmes. This means that it is a degree programme with Numerus Clausus (NC), for which there are significantly more applicants than study places.

However, it is not only the A-level grade that is important. Existing vocational training, voluntary work, particularly in a medical context, as well as a good result in the university aptitude test will also earn you points.

If you are not admitted to a state university in Germany, you may be able to complete your studies abroad. We will be happy to help you apply to a good university where prospective doctors receive the same high-quality education as in Germany.

Study of medicine

While other degree programmes are often completed after 3 or 4 years, the standard period of study for medicine is 6 years. Of this, 2 years are spent on the pre-clinical part and 4 years on clinical training and the practical year (PJ).

The degree programme concludes with the state examination and a licence to practise medicine. You are then a recognised doctor and can work as an assistant doctor at a university hospital or other institution.

Specialist training

During your time as a junior doctor, you can acquire the specialist doctor qualification.

It is up to you to decide which area you specialise in. If you then want to complete further training in sports medicine, the only requirement is that it is an area of direct patient care. Ultimately, this is the vast majority of areas. For example, specialists who specialise in sports can come from the following areas of medicine:

• General medicine
• Surgery
• Internal medicine 
• Paediatrics
• Intensive care medicine
• Orthopaedics

How long it takes to train as a specialist depends on the chosen field. As a rule, you should expect 4 to 6 years.

Further training as a sports physician

After completing your medical studies and specialist training, you can begin further training as a sports physician. This additional training includes theoretical and practical content in sports medicine.

Once you have completed all parts of the training programme, you can apply for a wide variety of jobs as a sports physician and, if applicable, work in the area of sport that is closest to your heart.

Contents of the further training course in sports medicine

By the time you become a sports physician, you will have acquired a lot of specialised knowledge from a wide range of medical fields. Find out now what content and information is covered and when.

Study

The medical degree programme is essentially divided into three parts. There is no specialisation in sport in any of these parts, but it is still necessary to complete them all.

Preclinic

The pre-clinical part is primarily concerned with the basics. The future doctors deal intensively with the following 3 subjects in particular:

• Anatomy
• Physiology
• Biology

There are also other basic subjects such as chemistry, physics, biochemistry and medical terminology. The pre-clinical phase ends after 4 semesters with the 1st state examination, also known as the Physikum. This consists of a written and an oral examination.

Clinic

The clinical degree programme is more practice-oriented than the pre-clinical part. Here, you will be taught about the various specialist areas at the respective institute at the university hospital and will also have frequent contact with Contact us with corresponding patients.

For many students, clinical studies are the time that has a major influence on decisions about their future specialisation. As you will need specialist training to work in sports medicine, it makes sense to think here about which activity other than sport particularly interests you in your medical work and which specialisation is suitable for you.

Practical year

The last year of the clinical part is the so-called PJ. Here you will spend 16 weeks in surgery, internal medicine and a speciality of your choice. You will get to know the profession from the practical side and receive intensive support from doctors with several years of professional experience.

Further training as a specialised doctor for the sports sector

Further training in sports medicine provides specialised knowledge about sport and exercise. It includes theoretical and practical content. This includes anatomical and physiological principles as well as the assessment of physical performance. Sports physicians learn, for example, how to carry out an exercise test and analyse it in detail. Such a test can be carried out on a cycle ergometer or in other ways.

The counselling and care of athletes is also an important aspect of training to become a sports physician, which is examined from various perspectives.

In order to hold the additional title of "sports physician", at least 120 hours of work as a sports physician are also required during the training programme. After completing their training, doctors are able to provide both healthy and sick people with the best possible advice and care in matters relating to sport.

Career and salary as a sports physician

A career in sports medicine offers a wide range of opportunities. Sports physicians can work in clinics, rehabilitation centres or sports clubs, among others. It is also possible to work in specialised sports medicine practices. The profession can involve working closely with professional athletes or recreational athletes.

Salaries vary depending on where you work and your professional experience. In clinics and rehabilitation centres, salaries are often based on collective agreements. In your own practice, the earning potential can be higher, but this is also associated with more responsibility.

High salaries are possible in professional sport in particular. However, these positions are also highly sought-after, as many doctors can well imagine a life as a coach for a top team or an individual athlete.

Good reasons to decide in favour of the additional training in sports medicine

Unlike many other medical specialisms, working as a sports physician is not usually associated with shift work. The working hours often include the weekend, as this is when the important competitions take place. However, if you enjoy this type of activity and like spending time on the sports field or in the gym anyway, you won't find this aspect of the job particularly bad.

As a sports physician, you can choose which area of sport you would like to work in later on. Whether it's recreational sports, disabled sports, professional sports or rehabilitation, there's something for everyone. Few specialisations in medicine or other degree courses offer so many opportunities.

Ongoing training - a matter of course for sports physicians

During their careers, sports physicians must always keep up to date with the latest scientific developments. Continuing education is therefore a more essential part of the profession than in most other degree programmes.

This ensures that the sports physicians are informed about the latest diagnostic tools and treatment methods and are able to apply them. Exchanges with colleagues and participation in conferences play an important role. This ensures that sports physicians can always respond optimally to the needs of their patients.