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The main steps to becoming a sports medicine physician are to earn a bachelor’s degree, graduate from medical school (MD or DO), complete a primary care or surgical residency, finish a sports medicine fellowship, and obtain board certification.
Here is the complete pathway:
Complete a four-year undergraduate degree in any major with a high GPA. You must finish medical school prerequisites, which typically include:
Maintain a strong GPA and gain clinical, research, and leadership experience to stay competitive for medical school admission.
Take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), a standardized exam required by most U.S. medical schools, in your sophomore or junior year. The MCAT tests your knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, sociology, and critical analysis skills. Medical schools use your score to assess academic readiness for rigorous medical training.
After completing your undergraduate degree and taking the MCAT, submit your medical school applications through the appropriate application service (AMCAS for MD programs or AACOMAS for DO programs).
Schools review your academic performance, MCAT score, clinical exposure, research involvement, leadership, volunteering, and written materials when selecting candidates for interviews. Experienced admissions experts can ensure each of these application materials is crafted to the standards of the most selective med schools.
Sports medicine doesn’t have its own residency. First, complete a residency in an approved specialty, most commonly:
Your residency training builds foundational expertise before subspecializing in sports medicine.
After residency, complete a 1–2 year fellowship in Sports Medicine. Most fellowships are one year for primary care specialties. During fellowship, you train in musculoskeletal injuries, concussion management, ultrasound-guided procedures, and athlete care at all levels.
After fellowship, you can take a subspecialty certification exam in Sports Medicine through your primary board (such as the American Board of Family Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, or American Board of Pediatrics). This step is optional but strongly recommended, as it allows you to practice as a board-certified sports medicine physician.
The average sports medicine physician makes around $294,817 annually. However, sports medicine physicians have a large pay range, starting around $260,000 to over $350,000.
In the past couple of years, the demand for sports medicine doctors has been on the lower side, particularly because it is a very niche and unique field with few job openings. However, the industry is poised to get larger, with an expected 72,500 roles to be filled by 2029.
Becoming a sports medicine physician takes 11 to 15 years after high school, depending on your residency path.
You will first complete a four-year bachelor’s degree, followed by four years of medical school to earn either an MD or DO degree.
After medical school, you must finish a residency in a primary specialty such as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, or orthopedic surgery. Residency length varies from three to five years, depending on the specialty.
Once you complete residency, you then pursue a sports medicine fellowship, which usually lasts one year for primary care specialties and sometimes longer for surgical pathways.
Yes, sports medicine physicians attend and graduate from medical school. They earn either a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree before completing residency and fellowship training. Sports medicine is a medical subspecialty, so physicians must first become fully licensed doctors before specializing.
You can start a career in sports medicine by becoming a licensed physician. First, complete a bachelor’s degree and take the MCAT. Next, graduate from medical school and complete a residency in a primary specialty such as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, or orthopedic surgery.
After residency, complete a sports medicine fellowship. Your career as a sports medicine physician begins after fellowship and board certification.
Sports medicine physicians commonly practice in hospitals, orthopedic groups, private clinics, and academic medical centers. Some work directly with high school, collegiate, or professional sports teams. Others focus on outpatient musculoskeletal care, injury prevention, rehabilitation, or performance medicine.
Practice settings vary based on specialty training and career goals.
Dr. Jonathan Preminger was the original author of this article. Snippets of his work may remain.
Reviewed by:
Orthopaedic Surgery Resident Physician, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
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