By Dr. Lisa Barkley, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Charles R. Drew University and Dr. Timothy McAdams, Team Physician for the San Francisco 49ers
As the National Football League begins another exciting season, players are once again relying on their club’s medical staff to provide medical care and advice to keep them healthy throughout the season. But this year, in addition to their clinical care, these club doctors and athletic trainers are also helping to train medical students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the United States, as the league supports efforts to diversify the sports medicine profession.
There is a persistent lack of racial/ethnic diversity among sports medicine physicians, and the medical profession in the United States in general. In a 2021 study, 84.5 percent of doctors on all American professional sports teams identified as white, while 8.4 percent identified as Asian, 5.8 percent identified as Black and 1.3 percent identified such as Hispanic/Latino. Data from the American Association of Medical Colleges in 2021 show that black students make up only 11.3 percent of the total medical school population in the United States and Hispanic/Latino students make up 12.7 per cent. These figures have changed very little in the last 40 years.
We believe that improving diversity among professional team physicians has the potential to positively impact patient outcomes and patient experience. That’s why the NFL, the National Football League Physicians Society (NFLPS) and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) are working together to create a pipeline to expose various medical students to the field of sports medicine. This NFL season, 14 students from the nation’s four HBCU medical schools will be embedded on NFL club medical staffs as the inaugural class of the NFL Sports Medicine Diversity Pipeline Initiative.
The goal of this program is to expose medical students from HBCU medical schools to sports medicine mentors through clinical rotations with NFL teams. This experience will give these students the opportunity to work directly with team physicians and athletic trainers, observe and participate in the care of NFL players and forge lasting professional relationships with leaders in the field of sports medicine. By the end of the rotation, students will understand the basic elements of all facets of care provided to professional athletes and have a network of mentors that will last far beyond their month-long clinical rotations. We believe this pipeline approach addresses a key root problem—the lack of access to professional sports medicine mentors—and can be replicated by other sports leagues, and in broader medical settings.
The NFL, its clubs, PFATS, the NFLPS and the four HBCU medical schools are all working together to close the diversity gap in sports medicine – not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s ensuring that the medical staff of the NFL reflects the diversity we see. in the league’s player population can be life-changing for both players and medical professionals. We see this as an opportunity to lead, and make a real and direct impact on patient care among professional athletes, and the medical community more broadly.
The NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative is not a one-time, one-year program, but an ongoing and sustained commitment and therefore will have lasting effects. As the inaugural class of students arrives at NFL clubs, we are excited to see this program come to life and look forward to a bright future ahead for the program, for player care and for sports medicine well beyond the NFL.
Dr. Lisa Barkley is the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Charles R. Drew University. She specializes in family, adolescent and primary care sports medicine and is currently the Diversity Trustee for the American College of Sports Medicine.
Dr. Timothy McAdams is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University, specializing in sports medicine. He serves as the Head Team Physician for the San Francisco 49ers and is president of the NFL Medical Society.
What kind of doctors work for sports teams?
A doctor of sports medicine is called a doctor of sports medicine. Sports medicine doctors have specialized training in the treatment and prevention of sports injuries or illnesses. This may interest you : PETER DRURY JOINS NBC SPORTS AS A KEY COMMENTATOR IN THE Premier League. The primary patients of sports medicine doctors are athletes, sports teams or individuals who have an active lifestyle.
What is a sports doctor called? Sports medicine doctors are orthopedic specialists who work with athletes and those with musculoskeletal injuries. They are trained to deal with any problem that is associated with sports – everything from joint pain to osteoarthritis to nutrition.
What kind of doctors work in the NFL?
All NFL team doctors are specialists in their subspecialty (ie, Orthopedic Surgery, Internal Medicine, etc.) but also in Sports Medicine in general. Our #1 priority is the overall health and well-being of the players and the organization. It’s not our job to worry about wins and losses… just to be doctors.
What type of doctors do sports teams have?
While sports teams at the high school or college level may only have one or two doctors dedicated to sports medicine, professional football teams have many specialists with specific areas of expertise. This may interest you : What am I thinking? That is the question!. They may include orthopedic surgeons and primary care sports medicine physicians such as Dr. Flannery.
Are sports medicine doctors happy?
Sports medicine doctors rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3. To see also : State disciplines health care providers | Washington State Department of Health.5/5. The majority of sports medicine doctors are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
What are the disadvantages of being a sports medicine doctor? Unusual hours. Many of the positions available for a sports medicine specialist offer unusual hours that do not align with a standard 40-hour work week. If you work for a team, you can travel, work nights and weekends. Sometimes you are on call or you have to help an athlete you have dealt with at short notice.
How many hours a week do sports medicine physicians work?
A typical week in my practice: I usually work 40-50 hours a week. I usually see patients from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., finish paperwork and call from 5-5:30 p.m. and return home at 6 p.m. I take three inpatient call weekends (in an acute rehabilitation hospital) per year.
What is it like being a sports medicine doctor?
What is Sports Medicine? Sports medicine physicians are non-surgical musculoskeletal (MSK) specialists, who treat MSK injuries for athletes and active patients. Think of them as doing everything an orthopedic surgeon does without any surgery, but with procedural skills.
Is being a sports doctor stressful?
They also reported that their offices are comfortable, they enjoy their interactions with their coworkers, and they don’t feel stressed most of the time. In fact, sports medicine doctors are considered the least stressed out of any type of medical specialist.
Where do sports medicine physicians get paid the most?
| Classification | City | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Green Bay, WI | $119.60 |
| 2 | Hattiesburg, MS | $114.60 |
| 3 | Fargo, ND | $112.28 |
| 4 | Springfield, MO | $111.55 |
How Much Does a Sports Medicine Doctor Make in the NFL? How Much Do NFL Team Doctors Make? According to SportBlurb, the average salary for team doctors in 2013 was $187,200 per year. Other factors play into salaries such as experience, location and role.
What is the highest salary for a sports medicine physician?
Sports Medicine Physician Salary Sports medicine physicians earn an average of $200,146 per year, or $96.22 per hour, in the United States. Sports medicine doctors on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make about $100,000 a year, while the top 10% make $397,000.
Where do most sports medicine doctors work?
Common work settings include hospitals, medical clinics, rehabilitation centers, private practices, colleges and universities, and professional sports organizations.
