What does a Sports Medicine Physician do?

Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities. Day to day that includes work like diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system and Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.

What skills should a Sports Medicine Physician put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Sports Medicine Physician list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3D motion analysis software, Allscripts PM, athenahealth athenaCollector, Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR, and Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Sports Medicine Physician work?

O*NET records 12 titles for this occupation, including Athletic Team Physician, Physician, Team Physician, and Orthopedic Team Physician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Sports Medicine Physician need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 51% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Sports Medicine Physician role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Sports Medicine Physician resume example

A resume for a Sports Medicine Physician needs to show the work itself: diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities. Day to day that means work like this: diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system; order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Athletic Team Physician
Physician
Team Physician
Orthopedic Team Physician
Industrial Sports Medicine Professional
Industrial Sports Medicine Specialist
Pediatric Sports Medicine Specialist
Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician
Sports Doctor
Sports Medicine Primary Care Physician
Sports Medicine Specialist
Sports Physician

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records.
Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.
Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries.
Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches.
Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.
Participate in continuing education activities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills.
Advise athletes, trainers, or coaches to alter or cease sports practices that are potentially harmful.
Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes.
Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.

27 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

3D motion analysis software
Allscripts PM
athenahealth athenaCollector
Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR
Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR
Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR
CareCloud Central
Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management
eClinicalWorks EHR software
Email software
Epic Practice Management
Epic Systems
GalacTek ECLIPSE
GE Healthcare Centricity Practice Solution

33 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Adjustable crutches
Automated external defibrillators AED
Body fat analyzers
Bone densitometers
Cast boots
Cold therapy equipment
Custom orthotics
Desktop computers
Diagnostic ultrasound scanners
Digital spirometers
Digital x ray machines
Electrocardiography EKG machines

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Epic
prescribe medications

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Judgment and Decision Making
05Monitoring
06Speaking
07Active Learning
08Complex Problem Solving
09Social Perceptiveness
10Instructing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Medicine and Dentistry
Biology
English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Administration and Management
Education and Training

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

51%Doctoral Degree
49%Post-Doctoral Training

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Sports Medicine Physician do?: Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities. Day to day that includes work like diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system and Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
What skills should a Sports Medicine Physician put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Sports Medicine Physician list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3D motion analysis software, Allscripts PM, athenahealth athenaCollector, Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR, and Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Sports Medicine Physician work?: O*NET records 12 titles for this occupation, including Athletic Team Physician, Physician, Team Physician, and Orthopedic Team Physician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Sports Medicine Physician need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 51% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Sports Medicine Physician role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.