Sports Medicine Physicians

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.7). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Tasks

All 27 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Core · importance 4.6
• Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures. Core · importance 4.5
• Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury. Core · importance 4.4
• Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records. Core · importance 4.4
• Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations. Core · importance 4.3
• Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries. Core · importance 4.2
• Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches. Core · importance 4.1
• Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention. Core · importance 4.1
• Advise athletes, trainers, or coaches to alter or cease sports practices that are potentially harmful. Core · importance 4.1
• Participate in continuing education activities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills. Core · importance 4.1
• Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes. Core · importance 4.0
• Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma. Core · importance 4.0
• Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes. Core · importance 4.0
• Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing. Core · importance 4.0
• Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries. Core · importance 3.9
• Inform athletes about nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, or uses and possible consequences of medication. Core · importance 3.8
• Attend games and competitions to provide evaluation and treatment of activity-related injuries or medical conditions. Core · importance 3.8
• Develop and test procedures for dealing with emergencies during practices or competitions. Core · importance 3.8
• Advise coaches, trainers, or physical therapists on the proper use of exercises and other therapeutic techniques, and alert them to potentially dangerous practices. Core · importance 3.6
• Observe and evaluate athletes' mental well-being. Core · importance 3.5
• Conduct research in the prevention or treatment of injuries or medical conditions related to sports and exercise. Core · importance 3.5
• Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites. Core · importance 3.5
• Prescribe orthotics, prosthetics, and adaptive equipment. Core · importance 3.4
• Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions. Core · importance 3.3
• Develop and prescribe exercise programs, such as off-season conditioning regimens. Core · importance 3.2
• Provide coaches and therapists with assistance in selecting and fitting protective equipment. Core · importance 3.2
• Advise athletes on ways that substances, such as herbal remedies, could affect drug testing results. Supplemental · importance 2.7

Work activities

• Select medical equipment for addressing patient needs.
• Prepare medications or medical solutions.
• Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
• Advise athletes, coaches, or trainers on exercise regimens, nutrition, or equipment use.
• Advise others on healthcare matters.
• Evaluate patient functioning, capabilities, or health.
• Maintain medical or professional knowledge.
• Develop exercise or conditioning programs.
• Prescribe treatments or therapies.
• Advise patients on effects of health conditions or treatments.
• Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
• Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
• Record patient medical histories.
• Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
• Supervise workers providing client or patient services.
• Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
• Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.
• Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
• Prescribe assistive medical devices or related treatments.
• Prescribe medications.
• Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
• Order medical diagnostic or clinical tests.
• Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
• Treat chronic diseases or disorders.
• Develop emergency procedures.
• Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
• Treat acute illnesses, infections, or injuries.
• Diagnose medical conditions.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Essential skills

Abilities

Transferable skills

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• English Language Common Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Microsoft Word Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Mathematics Common Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Email Software Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill
• Medical Software Specialized Skill
• Installation Specialized Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Education

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Typical entry-level education

Doctoral or professional degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Preparation level

SVP (8.0 and above) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs , Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Work styles

Interest areas

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Wages and employment are reported by BLS for the broader occupation group this specialty belongs to (SOC 29-1229), not for the specialty alone.

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.

• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians · 29-1229.04 Compare →
• Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · 29-1242.00 Compare →
• Pediatric Surgeons · 29-1243.00 Compare →
• General Internal Medicine Physicians · 29-1216.00 Compare →
• Emergency Medicine Physicians · 29-1214.00 Compare →
• Cardiologists · 29-1212.00 Compare →
• Podiatrists · 29-1081.00 Compare →
• Chiropractors · 29-1011.00 Compare →
• Family Medicine Physicians · 29-1215.00 Compare →
• Athletic Trainers · 29-9091.00 Compare →
• Anesthesiologists · 29-1211.00 Compare →
• Urologists · 29-1229.03 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Sports Medicine Physicians — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-role-29-1229-06,
  title  = {Sports Medicine Physicians},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1229-06}
}