fp+sports med fellowship vs. pm&r

GluteusMaximus · Nov 2, 2005

ive seen questions asked about comparing fp+sports med fellowship vs. pm&r in the past but haven't seen any that answer that following questions....

1. what would the difference be (in terms of treatment approach, procedures, etc..) between the two in an outpatient orthopedic setting?

2. whats the difference in earning potential between the 2? (considering all else equal..ie. hours and geographic region)

3. can fp+sports med due electrodiagnostics with further training or are these restricted to pm&r and neuro?

thanks for any help.....

DistantMets · Nov 5, 2005

According to salary.com the national average for FP is about $146,000 and PM&R is about $183,000. Put them both in a busy MSK setting and I'm sure the numbers go up (I know for PM&R they do, I would assume so with FP). The biggest difference is that a sports med-fp's main procedure would be peripheral joint injections, which PM&R does, and would not be able to do EMG or spine injections which reimburse pretty well.

If you're interest is strictly injured athletes, I've been told its difficult to have a pure sports medicine practice and you need to figure what other kinds of patients you like to see to keep your waiting room full. If you're FP-sports med, you're probably going to do a lot of primary care still and if you're PM&R you'll still see a lot of chronic MSK conditions, EMG, spasticity management, maybe some inpatient (all of which pay better than primary care). I don't think anyone really makes much money off being the "team doc" unless you're salaried by a University or Pro team or you're an orthopod that can afford to see 15 kids basically for free on Saturday if 2 or 3 end up needing surgery.

The FP is going to be better at managing the athlete with primary care problems...asthma, HTN, acute illnesses, etc. PM&R is going to have more experience with gait training, therapeutic modalities, TBI and athletes with disabilities, etc. There's certainly a role for both.

I think the big distinction is sports med vs. MSK. The treatment approaches are largely the same, but I think it's tough if you're FP-sports med and want to do a full service, MSK-only practice because so many PM&R people are interested in it now and have more tools at their disposal. I think that goes for solo practice or in an orthopedic group.

Hope this helps some.

cyanocobalamin · Nov 6, 2005

You can also do a fellowship off of sports medicine from EM - from the American College of Emergency Physicians:

ACEP Sports Medicine

Taus · Nov 6, 2005

DistantMets said:
According to salary.com the national average for FP is about $146,000 and PM&R is about $183,000. Put them both in a busy MSK setting and I'm sure the numbers go up (I know for PM&R they do, I would assume so with FP). The biggest difference is that a sports med-fp's main procedure would be peripheral joint injections, which PM&R does, and would not be able to do EMG or spine injections which reimburse pretty well.

If you're interest is strictly injured athletes, I've been told its difficult to have a pure sports medicine practice and you need to figure what other kinds of patients you like to see to keep your waiting room full. If you're FP-sports med, you're probably going to do a lot of primary care still and if you're PM&R you'll still see a lot of chronic MSK conditions, EMG, spasticity management, maybe some inpatient (all of which pay better than primary care). I don't think anyone really makes much money off being the "team doc" unless you're salaried by a University or Pro team or you're an orthopod that can afford to see 15 kids basically for free on Saturday if 2 or 3 end up needing surgery.

The FP is going to be better at managing the athlete with primary care problems...asthma, HTN, acute illnesses, etc. PM&R is going to have more experience with gait training, therapeutic modalities, TBI and athletes with disabilities, etc. There's certainly a role for both.

I think the big distinction is sports med vs. MSK. The treatment approaches are largely the same, but I think it's tough if you're FP-sports med and want to do a full service, MSK-only practice because so many PM&R people are interested in it now and have more tools at their disposal. I think that goes for solo practice or in an orthopedic group.

Hope this helps some.

This is the best post that I have ever seen pertaining to a question that I've been mulling around in my head for a long time. Thank you very much for your insight.

fp+sports med fellowship vs. pm&r

GluteusMaximus

Junior Member

DistantMets

Member

cyanocobalamin

M4

Taus

.

Similar threads