Category: Wellness Programs

Tips for a Successful Career in Sports Medicine

People are always looking for ways in which they can have a highly successful career and there are things that you can do to really increase the chances of being successful. However, if you simply overlook some tips you can still have a fulfilling career while other tips are quite necessary in order to succeed. Working towards a successful career often begins long before you actually start the career, and sports medicine is certainly no exception.

One of the first considerations that you should look into is ensuring if you are still in school that you are studying enough science to satisfy the needs of sports medicine. If you are someone, who hates biology class, and tries to figure out ways to avoid other science classes then sports medicine may not be the best idea for you. While sports medicine is not always about treating patients, it is still considered a medical field and someone who dislikes science is not likely to find happiness in the field. However, if you really do want to find a career in sports medicine you need to look into taking as many biology, anatomy and physics classes as your school possibly offers.

If you are not in school currently, look for a school that will offer excellent programs in the science fields that are required. If you have already completed your schooling, look and see if your classes that you studied will fulfill the science needs for getting started. If it does not, then it is best to start looking for a school that can satisfy your needs.

Another thing that you should closely look into is selecting the medical school you want to attend. Not all schools are created equally. Students who attend the best schools tend to get a higher quality education and are able to translate that higher education into better careers ultimately. You may have to compare prices of schools to find one you can actually afford, but attending the best school you can possibly afford will certainly pay off in the long run.

While you are looking for the perfect school to attend, consider which area of sports medicine you are interested in specializing in. Most doctors simply cannot attend to all of the medical needs of athletes; there are far too many specialties to even try so it is best that you look for a school that is excellent in your desired specialty. For example, a school that is highly regarded for their training of traditional medical doctors may not be as useful to you if you are looking into a career in orthopedics or even surgery. Ensure you are training for the correct field that you are really interested in.

Look for a residency program that is based in the exact specialty of sports medicine that you are interested in as soon as possible. While all doctors must do basic residency programs, many move on immediately from the residency program into sports medicine. This is not recommended at all, due to the complex nature of the body and the strains as well as considerations when sports are involved it is best to participate in a sports medicine residency program as well before fully starting in the field. This will allow you to maximize your hands on training and get the absolute most possible from all of your education. A career in medicine is certainly not cheap, so do your best to ensure you are putting that education to maximum usage.

Additionally, networking can be your best friend, especially for those who are beginning. Whether you offer your services to a semi professional team, or only to the little league team down the road it gives you the opportunity to help people learn who you are, and what you are capable of doing. You simply cannot purchase advertising that is as good for your practice. So volunteer some of your time monitoring games and helping ensure that athletes are taken care of; people will recognize your efforts and are much more likely to use you when they need a sports medicine doctor.

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Depression in Adolescents

Depression in adolescents is a disorder which occurs due to persistent sadness, loss of interest, loss of self worth and discouragement. Depression is normally a temporary reaction towards situations of stress. Depression is a normal part of the maturation process of adolescents. It is even induced due to production of sex hormones. Adolescent females are depressed twice more than adolescent boys according to a study.

Adolescent behavior is normally marked with good and bad moods. The transition from a good mood to bad mood and vice-versa, can take minutes, hours and even days. That is the reason why true depression is very difficult to find out. Depression in adolescents can be caused due to bad school performance, break up with boyfriend or girlfriend, and failing relations with friends and family. These causes can lead to persistent depression. Other serious causes are chronic illness, obesity, child abuse, stressful lifestyle, poor social skills, unstable care giving and depression in family history.

Symptoms of depression in adolescents are eating disorders, weight change, irritable mood, excessive sleeping in daytime, excessive temper, criminal behavior, memory loss, fatigue, self preoccupation, sadness, difficulty in concentrating, worthlessness feelings, loss of interest, self hatred, obsession with death and thought & attempts of suicides. When these symptoms are being noticed for more than two weeks, it is important to get treatment for the adolescent. Depression not only affects interpersonal relationships, but school performance as well. Depressed adolescents are more prone to take onto drugs and alcohol as an attempt to overcome their depression. Such problems require intensive treatment.

The doctor will take blood test and perform physical examination to determine the cause of depression. The adolescent can also be tested for substance abuse such as smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, marijuana smoking, and usage of other drugs. After the physical examination, psychiatric evaluation is also done to understand the cause of sadness, loss of interest and irritability. Depression can also lead to the development of other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, mania and anxiety. It is also important to determine whether the adolescent poses a risk for himself/herself and others. Family and school personnel can provide valuable information about the adolescent to the doctor.

Treatment for depression for adolescent is similar to the treatment of depression for adults. Along with the treatment, the adolescent are given antidepressant medication and psychotherapy. Antidepressant medications include tricyclics, Prozac, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI. Some of the medicines increase the risk, so it is a good idea that parents discuss the possible risks with the doctor. Only some of the antidepressant medications are meant for children and adolescents. Adolescents with severe depression need to be hospitalized as they are more prone to kill themselves.

Family and school support is necessary to tackle the depression of the adolescent. Parents can get their children admitted in emotional growth schools, boot camps or wilderness programs, to solve the behavioral problems. These programs consist of non medical staff and confrontational therapies. But care must be taken as some of the programs can in turn harm children who are depressed and sensitive. Adolescents, who get caught due to criminal offense, should be taken special care of by their parents. It is best that the child face the consequences and learn a lesson from it. Depressed adolescents respond well to treatment if they are treated comprehensively and early. More than half of the adults are known to have depression when they were in their teens.

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Questions to Ask When Selecting Your Sports Medicine Doctor

Just as cars are not created equally, and neither are sports shoes there are some rather large differences between sports medicine doctors. The good news is this creates huge amounts of diversity; the bad news is that this can create numerous problems with finding someone who is well qualified to treat sports related injuries and help prevent injuries from occurring. To help you find the best sports doctor to help you meet your needs, use these questions as a guideline when you are interviewing doctors.

You should first ask your doctor how long they have been treating athletes. This should be at least several years if you are looking for experience, do not expect someone with less than 3 years of experience to be very helpful. If you decide to use a doctor new to the field, be aware that they should be cheaper and willing to work closely with you.

It is also wise to ask your doctor if they are currently the official team physician for any teams in your area. If they say yes, ask what teams so that you can contact the coach for a reference. Remember, if the coach does not give a positive reference that is still an excellent opportunity of information. Find out exactly why they do not recommend the doctor you are considering so that you can gather as many facts as possible.

Ask your potential doctor if they are a member of any special organizations such as the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine. Memberships into these groups typically require credentials to be verified in order for acceptance, this helps to keep only the better doctors amongst membership ranks.

You should also ask if your doctor has attended any specialized training courses. Some examples are the American College of Sports Medicine team physician training course as well as the course that is offered by the US Olympic Committee. If they have not attended any special programs this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is worth noting for your own piece of mind.

A very important question that you should ask is what percentage of the practice is pertaining to sports medicine. Unless the doctor is a sports medicine specialist, you should not expect to hear 100% and even if they are a specialist, they are unlikely to really have a 100% level. Most practices are as low as only 30%

Ask if the doctor has any particular specialties. For example, there are doctors who specialize in orthopedic surgery, as well as various other medical fields. If you are just looking for a basic sports medicine doctor then often choosing a family practice or even an internal medicine doctor is the best decision. From the primary doctor that you choose you can receive referrals to other doctors as they become necessary.

Your final consideration should be looking for a doctor that is willing to meet with you before you filling out any paperwork. This means that they should be willing to do an interview, preferably free where you can talk to them for a few minutes to learn about them, their experience, and their practice. Many doctors do this, especially those who are pediatricians. This means that your sports medicine doctor should be willing to have an initial interview as well. Using this to your benefit means you can ask your questions and see how comfortable you are before you actually need their services.

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Purpose of the American College of Sports Medicine

The American College of Sports Medicine is more than just a nifty name; they are the main organization that is working towards improving the entire field of sports medicine with the overall health of athletes in mind. By taking the ideas and advances in sports medicine and combining them together with the best training and developmental research, the American College of Sports Medicine aims to help as many people as possible regardless of location.

Developed in 1954, the ACSM has more than 20,000 members currently amongst its ranks with members coming from all around the world. The American College of Sports Medicine is working in several ways to help improve the overall treatment options that are available to athletes around the world, including the use of their certification programs that range from the type of specialty. It is always recommended to select a sports medicine professional who is certified in the area in which they practice to ensure they have received the best training possible.

In addition to the certification programs that are offered the ACSM offers several conferences through out the year in various locations that are geared towards specific specialties. Professionals who are associated with the ACSM are highly encouraged to attend these conferences to help them stay up to date on the latest developments in the field of sports medicine.

In addition to working with professionals who are already practicing a specialty in the sports medicine field, the ACSM also encourages students who are still in school and those involved in their residency to start getting involved to ensure they are expanding their education as much as possible. While some may think that the ACSM is useless, many also agree that there are numerous benefits of having a specific group responsible for giving the certifications.

Most patients prefer working with doctors who are well qualified, and the American College of Sports Medicine offers numerous benefits because of the continued research in the field as well as extensive developmental opportunities that it offers. In addition, the ACSM is dedicated to helping professionals develop as much as possible simply by making it convenient, with a mixture of campus and online programs offered there is almost no reason why every sports medicine professional cannot be involved in continuing their educational goals.

Athletes themselves find the ACSM to be a great resource to them. It provides them a way of measuring various sports medicine professionals to help them determine which is the best provider for their individual needs. By ensuring that a certification method is in place, it allows most athletes and coaches alike to separate the dedicated sports medicine providers from those who are not as experienced and knowledgeable in the field.

As each individual provider grows and expands their knowledge of the field, they are usually welcomed to join the ACSM and ensure that they continue to stay at the top of their field. Various methods are always in place for most fields to keep professionals well trained and the ACSM provides this for the sports medicine field. Despite continuous improvements in treatment options available, the American College of Sports Medicine encourages professionals to continue to be the best in their field.

However, important to note is that aside from the ACSM encouraging doctors and other sports medicine professionals to continuously further their education it also encourages advances in the field to help new treatment methods develop faster, as well as helping ensure that all treatment methods have the best interests of the athletes in mind whom they are designed to help.

Further helping the ACSM is the fact that there are so many resources that are used to help ensure that certified professionals in the sports medicine field stay up to date on all pressing technology changes and new developments. Rather than allowing, all of the professionals to allow their education to take a backseat to their practice professionals are highly encouraged to continue learning as much as possible.

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