Careers in Sports Medicine and Sports Science Webinar

As facilitator of this careers event on behalf of SMA I am able to introduce some leaders in their profession to talk about their Health practice journey and how they developed a career in the practice of Sports Medicine including clinical practice, sports team involvement, administrative positions and research.

Each year Sports Medicine Australia www.sma.org.au conducts a workshop in conjunction with the SMA fellows of which I am the President. The event is conducted over two hours and clinicians from six disciplines speak for 10 minutes each about their career path and trajectory.

The disciplines that presented this year were:

Sports Science with SMA Board Chair Anthony Leicht

Sports Physiotherapy -  Kellie Wilkie

Sports Dietetics - Lisa Middleton

Sports Podiatry - John Osborne

Sports and Exercise Medicine – Dr Donald Kuah

Orthopaedic Surgery – Professor George Murrell

Each speaker presented and then fielded questions from the attendees or from myself to elaborate more on specific aspects of career such as:

-          Their mentors

-          The study they had done

-          What experiences that had been involved in

-          The Sports teams they had assisted etc.

-          How to build a network and take opportunities

What we learnt was the commonality of the careers and the hard work that had been completed as volunteers, presenters, mentors and mentees, the extra study they had achieved and the dedication and persistence to overcome career roadblocks.

I am always impressed when facilitating this event of the genuine desire of such elite practitioners to share their career moments and provide insights into how others may tread their path to career satisfaction and success.

The event was completed with questions and tips the speakers would like to share to the audience. Some examples were:

-          There are many practitioners in Sports Medicine and Sports Science who are willing to be mentors and assist you. Try asking!

-          Curiosity will drive you to be better by researching and learning new techniques or new programs that can be used to assist athletes with injury prevention.

-          It is important to do something that you love doing.

-          Understand the sport you wish to be involved in. This helps with networking and relationship development.

-          Work on your networks and relationships not just with athletes and other SM and SS professionals but with all: administrators, managers, property stewards etc. This will help you be an important part of the team.

-          Accountability in your role is a great motivator. One of our speakers said ”for them to perform they need you to perform?

-          Your pathway may not be linear, so be prepared to switch to keep your pathway moving towards your goal.

Embrace the opportunity to pursue a great career and join us at the SMA National conference in Brisbane in October! Check it out at www.sma.org.au.