As the field of sports medicine reaches an annual growth of 14% (US Bureau of Logistics), it brings the question: As a high school student, is this field of medicine something I should consider? The answer to that, according to our former school athletic trainer Keeley Phipps, is “being an athletic trainer has its ups and downs, but that is the medical field. There’s no better feeling than getting help [to] your athletes and then seeing them succeed on the field!”

Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that focuses on the movements and actions of the body. There are many different jobs associated with sports medicine, such as kinesiology, athletic training, physical therapy, exercise physiology, sports psychology, and many more. Although each profession requires different things, they all have the common quality of being fast-paced, catching up with the constantly changing field of sports medicine.

For those that are considering the pay with this profession, sports medicine is generally a well-paying field of medicine. The median salary for a sports medicine professional is 100-300k annually. This is high and rewarding compared to other fields of medicine that require longer hours and receive lower pay.

The next time you think about professions to pursue in your future, consider sports medicine. Whether or not it is a good profession is up to you to decide, but the thrill of the continuously changing field is engaging and enlightening to those who choose to pursue it.