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Professional team physician salaries
Started by Res-J
I would say not many would know since the supply of those jobs are very small and most likely have a low turnover.
I have a family member in that position. The pay is pretty low compared to the hours put in. It is more of a "prestige" type of deal...your face is on TV a lot and you get a ton of patients (especially local high school athletes) just for that reason. The schedule is extremely busy and that is in addition to your regular practice...but in many ways it is worth it.
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I've always heard that for professional teams (baseball, football, etc) there is no pay - only the prestige/free advertisement for being a big-time "team physician."
oudoc08 said:
Umm, I think there are some confusing statements going on here. Here is what I know from personal experience:
I have a very close family member who is a head NBA coach, the team owner and others in the association seek out the best team physicians they can find. It's all about business and they want players getting the best treatment (since the players are getting the best salaries, they want them healthy enough to perform at all times). You get an minimal salary (~100-150k) and you are expected to travel on their charter flights often...so that makes it hard to keep a practice going outside of this position which means no additonal salary. Like everyone says though, there is prestige. You travel with the athletes, you get treated like an athlete. High turnover, so you can always jump back into practice when your savings dries up. My uncle tells me everytime I talk to him on the phone (since I began med school) about the professional team physicians positions available. It's not that competitive because travel is so extensive, it's just about who you know and who knows your practice.
Now, I am sure it's different for college and high school teams but, they are not professional by any means. I was a college and high school athlete and none of my team physicians ever talked about paying to work for my school. In high school, community physicians volunteered. At my university, physicians laughed about the very small "stipend" they received. The huge difference being that college team physicians do not travel (team trainers do but team physicians don't) so they have the ability to maintain pretty steady separate practices
coachB said:
I don't know about paying to do this, but the person I know who works for an NFL team substantially earns his living elsewhere.
if any of you are DO students... check out the latest "The DO", there's a big article about professional sports team physicians. from what I read in that article a lot of teams (not all) get "official health care provider" sponsors for their team. Basically, a big health care company will bid to become the providor. They get to advertise during the games, in the stadium etc, while providing health services...
The real money earners are the guys that aren't tied to a team, but rather are orthopaedic surgeons who are the best at their procedures. They end up as "consultants" for a variety of teams or individual players. (Think Dr. James Andrews)
Many pro athletes hire their own guys for strength and conditioning training. These guys usually have at least a masters in exercise physiology or something of the sort and I think you'd be hard pressed to find one that wasn't a CSCS. Competition is fierce for those gigs and they are usually at the top of the their game with lots of hard work to get there. Almost all of them know each other. Oftentimes, the best trainers are in a college environment. If they don't have the masters then they will have a proven track record and lots of tutoring from someone higher up.
Many pro athletes hire their own guys for strength and conditioning training. These guys usually have at least a masters in exercise physiology or something of the sort and I think you'd be hard pressed to find one that wasn't a CSCS. Competition is fierce for those gigs and they are usually at the top of the their game with lots of hard work to get there. Almost all of them know each other. Oftentimes, the best trainers are in a college environment. If they don't have the masters then they will have a proven track record and lots of tutoring from someone higher up.
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well they're not MDs since we leave med school/residency with approximately as much knowledge in exercise science and kinesiology as they came in with.
Degrees in athletic training, physical therapy, kinesiology, and exercise science are the most common.
There is nothing stopping you from getting your CSCS (requires a bachelor's) along with your MD. Which is what I'm doing, as a way to combine my interest in sports, rehabilitation, and psychiatry.
The real money isn't in being a team physican per se, but rather being a physician who individual athletes go to.
that's sweet...I actually would like to pursue the same thing...but i thought there would not be any time
CSCS is easy to get once you complete your bachelors. It is just a minimal qualification to do anything worthwhile. I'm willing to bet most of us in these forums could get it with at most a month or two of studying. The science background and relatively high intelligence in here helps.
The best guys are innovative and always pushing beyond the basics. They experiment quite a bit too. I worked for one of the places that preps athletes for the olympics, combines, etc. Everyone was required to be a CSCS, even the people that only pulled in 20 bucks an hour teaching elementary school kids.
The best way to get with those elite athletes is to train as one to start with, but then network network network. You take every opportunity to observe. Every new city you go to that has a reputable training facility, you check it out and ask a ton of questions. You read tons of research as well as different programs. You aren't going to find these guys at Gold's or LA Fitness. They will have their own freestanding facility with an indoor field or a big friggin warehouse building with all sorts of ominous looking things sitting around. Chains, elastic bands, tires, barrels of rice, sand bags, plyo boxes, prowlers, sleds and all sorts of other agonizing but fun things.
The best guys are innovative and always pushing beyond the basics. They experiment quite a bit too. I worked for one of the places that preps athletes for the olympics, combines, etc. Everyone was required to be a CSCS, even the people that only pulled in 20 bucks an hour teaching elementary school kids.
The best way to get with those elite athletes is to train as one to start with, but then network network network. You take every opportunity to observe. Every new city you go to that has a reputable training facility, you check it out and ask a ton of questions. You read tons of research as well as different programs. You aren't going to find these guys at Gold's or LA Fitness. They will have their own freestanding facility with an indoor field or a big friggin warehouse building with all sorts of ominous looking things sitting around. Chains, elastic bands, tires, barrels of rice, sand bags, plyo boxes, prowlers, sleds and all sorts of other agonizing but fun things.
Money post right here. I'd also recommend going to eric cressey's webpage and finding his list of resources for starting coaches. It's true you can probably get your CSCS with a few months of studying. I'd guess more than 1 or 2 months, because mosspoh is probably underestimating based on the fact that he came in with consdierably more backgroudn knowledge than an avg med student or physician would (none, essentially). The CSCS is basically proving you have an undergrad level knowledge of the stuff. The hard part is going from 'undergrad' to expert.
No athlete wants to listen to a pencil-necked geek. They don't necessarily expect you to be a better athlete than them, but they will certainly respect you for pushing your own personal boundaries. I'm a rubbish powerlifter (nerve damage and consequent muscle imbalances and spinal trauma), but my (argh) tailored shirts prove I powerlift, as does the fact that I occasionally put an article up in high profile places. Even though I'm training to be a psychiatrist and not a sports doc, per se, think i won't have a better rep and street cred with athletes for it?
D
deleted654432
The New York Yankees team surgeon signed a 10 year/ $100 million dollar contract, so I wouldn't say the doctors are paying to work for the team, in all cases.
Not sure why you bothered to do a necro- bump for this thread. But your post sounds a bit dubious given that this is not how really doctors are typically employed - we don't work under 10 year fixed rate contracts. Since I last posted on this thread (over a decade ago,) I've met more people who are involved in professional team medical care. As was suggested above, more often than not the hospitals or groups have to PAY high six to seven digits for the rights to say they are the physicians for team X. They do this because it gets non sports customers in -- they want the same doctor as their favorite players.
Um, I hope you you realize this isn't the kind of web reference you should be citing to for factual accuracy...
For ortho/sports med with big teams, generally you pay the team to let you be their team physician or physician group. As you move farther away from the big teams, the amount you pay them becomes less, with some letting you just do it for free in exchange for your care. Events that bring physicians on board (X-Games type stuff, the World Surf League, etc) generally pay, but it's not a whole hell of a lot. Travel's free and the lifestyle is great though.
Hell of a necro, btw.
Hell of a necro, btw.
There is only one James Andrews people
http://www.slate.com/articles/sport...pro_football_s_medical_sponsorship_deals.html
http://thedo.osteopathic.org/2014/10/love-game-team-physicians-highs-lows-craft/
A couple of articles on the topic for those that are interested.
http://thedo.osteopathic.org/2014/10/love-game-team-physicians-highs-lows-craft/
A couple of articles on the topic for those that are interested.
Again you are referencing non news articles as fact. One's describing people as high fiving each other over a doctors contract is clearly made up. If it wasn't in a major publication it probably wasn't verifiable.
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