Peds and Sports Medicine?

[Taus]

Does/has anyone seen a real niche for a pediatrician w/ a sports medicine subspecialty? I have been mulling this idea back and forth and don't know if it will be worth it in terms of client base problems (except for marketing to the local high schools). Anyone think this mixture is a viable one or should I stick to Family/IM + Sports Medicine? I love the idea of becoming a Pediatrician for various reasons, but the sports medicine aspect holds a lot of interest with me. Any input/ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks

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[14022]

Does/has anyone seen a real niche for a pediatrician w/ a sports medicine subspecialty? I have been mulling this idea back and forth and don't know if it will be worth it in terms of client base problems (except for marketing to the local high schools). Anyone think this mixture is a viable one or should I stick to Family/IM + Sports Medicine? I love the idea of becoming a Pediatrician for various reasons, but the sports medicine aspect holds a lot of interest with me. Any input/ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks

I was talking to a friend (another student) about this the other day. We concluded it would be much better to do FP. It would be difficult to make a whole practice out of peds sports medicine. A fellowship in sports medicine after peds, in our opinions, would only be useful to supplement your general pediatrics practice, but the patient volume would not be high enough to warrant a pediatric sports medicine practice.

Also, you should check on this because I do not know for sure, but I was under the impression that there are very few fellowship positions available for sports med after peds residency. From my knowledge there are many many many more available after family medicine residency.

 

[bluebirdie]

I was talking to a friend (another student) about this the other day. We concluded it would be much better to do FP. It would be difficult to make a whole practice out of peds sports medicine. A fellowship in sports medicine after peds, in our opinions, would only be useful to supplement your general pediatrics practice, but the patient volume would not be high enough to warrant a pediatric sports medicine practice.

Also, you should check on this because I do not know for sure, but I was under the impression that there are very few fellowship positions available for sports med after peds residency. From my knowledge there are many many many more available after family medicine residency.

I know of a doc who did an Im/peds residency then went into sports medicine. However, his practice currently covers I'd say 80% pediatric patients.

 

[doc05]

if you go with peds sports medicine, you'll be dealing with the biggest pain in the a-- parents you've ever met. that's virtually guaranteed.

 

[14022]

if you go with peds sports medicine, you'll be dealing with the biggest pain in the a-- parents you've ever met. that's virtually guaranteed.

How so? Why more than any other peds specialty?

 

[doc05]

How so? Why more than any other peds specialty?

because regular normal kids who are active can get by just fine with a regular pediatrician.

the ones who see a "sports medicine" specialist are the same ones who are driven to hockey practice at 5 am on weekends or whose parents think they are raising the next Tiger Woods.

 

[Taus]

Thanks for all of the replies. Upon reading your posts and doing further research I have come to the same conclusion that FM will be my best bet for my interests. The majority of fellowships and current doctors that that I saw listed as primary care sports medicine docs were FM or PM&R. Can't wait to check out the Sports Med Club at PCOM this fall....

 

[bluebirdie]

Just to add my two cents...the peds. sports doc I shadowed didn't seem to have a lot of difficult patients when I was following him around. However, I'm sure they do exist One of the things I found refreshing about the specialty is that all of the patients were super healthy and were willing to do the work needed to get well (because if they didn't they couldn't play sports, dance, etc.) Since the patient's parents were taking them to a sports doctor for their injuries, just about all of the patients parents were doing a good job of taking care of their kids....something you don't always see. All in all, the patients loved the doc I was with and since these kids were repeatedly injured he was able to develop strong, lasting relationships with his patient. It's a specialty I never actually knew much about until recently, but it's pretty awesome.

 

[jamie]

Thanks for all of the replies. Upon reading your posts and doing further research I have come to the same conclusion that FM will be my best bet for my interests. The majority of fellowships and current doctors that that I saw listed as primary care sports medicine docs were FM or PM&R. Can't wait to check out the Sports Med Club at PCOM this fall....

Med-Peds could also be an option for you. It's a four-year residency, and in the end, you're board eligible for internal medicine and peds. You'd have more training in peds (2 years, compared to a few months in FP), and you'd still have the option of a fellowship in sports medicine.