Where to Start for becoming a Sports Medicine Doctor
A common question for many individuals interested in a sports medicine career is what college undergraduate degree they should be going for. The thing to remember is the sports part comes after the basic medicine part.
What you major in as an undergrad just isn't that important. With that being said, you must have taken and done well in all the science and math premed courses.
Your goal should be to have the grades and the knowledge needed to get into medical school. Stay focused on a pre-med curriculum (calculus, physics, at least a year of chemistry and at least a year of biology).
Attend a university that has a well established pre-med curriculum. You can’t take “Everyday Chemistry 101? and expect a medical school to only look for “chemistry.” Instead look for courses like organic and inorganic chemistry.
You have to be an MD first. Take the Pre-med curriculum. Most major in a science, but you can major in anything. Most Sports Medicine docs are Orthopedic Surgeons. So after Medical School, you take a Residency in Orthopedics, then a Fellowship in Sports Medicine. You have a long way to go. First work on getting the MD.
Before you think about your specialty in medicine, you need to get into (and through) medical school. To be best prepared for medical school, a biochemistry-type major is best. That’s what you mostly study in medical school. To be more likely to get into medical school, they like to see something out of the ordinary and difficult (it proves you’re smart and work hard): engineering undergrads often have very high acceptance rates. Chemical or biomedical engineering would both be good. Math would also be good, or genetics, pathobiology, and the like.