Sport and exercise medicine in the undergraduate curriculum. Are we inspiring the next generation of sport and exercise medicine doctors and helping them overcome the barriers they face getting into the specialty?

Background Sport and exercise medicine (SEM) in the UK is gaining the recognition of medical students as a potentially attractive career. The London 2012 Olympic health based legacy, together with the media spotlight on sports injuries, has served to further increase this interest in SEM at an undergraduate level. In this editorial, I address three barriers that students who are interested in SEM need to overcome to enter specialty training. No SEM in the curriculum The undergraduate curricula at most medical schools in the UK do not include any formal SEM education, either in a sports medicine or exercise medicine format. We are taught about disease rather than health. Many students feel disappointed that their education is failing to mirror NHS, and global priorities,1 of using physical activity as a modality for prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases. Weiler et al2 in the...
Source: British Journal of Sports Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research