Official Athletic Site of UC Irvine Anteaters

SPORTS MEDICINE

Sports Medicine Basics

Thank you for your interest in Sports Medicine at UCI. Outlined below are the information we provide to students interested in the Sports Medicine Internship at UCI. This internship is an excellent primer to careers in Athletic Training, General Medicine, Sports Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery, Physical Therapy and Chiropractic.

What is an Athletic Trainer?
How to become a Certified Athletic Trainer
How to become a Sports Medicine Intern at UC Irvine
Sports Medicine Internship Applications

What is an Athletic Trainer?
An athletic trainer is a person who is educated in the area of care and prevention of athletic related injuries.

The duties of an athletic trainer include the prevention, recognition, and immediate treatment and rehabilitation of injuries occuring during physical activities or athletics. Athletic trainers work closely with physicians and other allied health professionals on a daily basis. The American Medical Association recognized the certified atheltic trainer as an "allied health care professional". The trainer's basic skills are many:

How to become a Certified Athletic Trainer
Aspiring Athletic Trainers must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited Athletic Training Education Curriculum.

In addition, individuals must successfully complete a written, practical, and oral examination. A baccalaureate degree is the minimum educational requirement for certification; however, over 70% of the National Athletic Trainers Association's members possess master's degrees.

How to become a Sports Medicine Intern at UC Irvine
Students interested in becoming a Sports Medicine Intern at UC Irvine must complete the application form available at the bottom of this page.

The things that we encourage UC Irvine students interested in sports medicine to do include:

1. Enroll in the Introduction to Sports Medicine class, listed in the schedule of classes in the Campus Recreation section. It will meet at the Carlos A. Prietto MD Sports Medicine Center in Crawford Hall, on Wednesdays from 5:50 - 6:50 pm. During the Fall Quarter, the course covers ankle injuries, Winter Quarter, knee injuries and in Spring Quarter, shoulder injuries. The courses are required if you are going to volunteer in the Sports Medicine Internship Program.

2. Sign up for membership in the Sports Medicine Club. The club meets at 6:50 pm on Wednesday, immediately following the Intro to Sports Medicine class. The Sports Medicine Club is eligible to attend the Advanced Sports Medicine Lectures from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM on Wednesday evenings. The list of past lecture topics is available here

3. Students enrolled in the Introduction to Sports Medicine class will be given the opportunity to participate in Observation in the sports medicine center. For 1.3 s pass/no pass units, the student must complete 60 hours of observation and write a 3-5 page case study.

4. All students that observe in sports medicine are evaluated for becoming part of the sports medicine internship program as a sports medicine intern that works directly with our Division I Intercollegiate Athletic and dance programs. We are interested in students that want to become involved. Our program has been very successful in placing student in advanced degree programs in Athletic Training, Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, and Medicine.

5. All sports medicine interns are required to enroll in the class titled "Care and Treatment of Athletic Injuries" offered at Irvine Valley College on Monday evenings from 7:00 PM- 10:00 PM during the fall semester.

6. Students that continue in the Sports Medicine Internship will be required to take the Dance 120 class in the Spring Quarter. This course is titled "Health and Injury of High Impact Activity," and is a 4 unit graded class that is a teleconferencing course offered in association with UC Davis, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. . The course pre-requisite is the "Care & Treatment of Athletic Injuries".course at Irvine Valley College.

7. We encourage students interested in Athletic Training, Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy and Medicine to take classes relating to their interest. Depending on the graduate program of interest, individual programs have different pre-requisites. Included in those recommended classes are:

• Care & Prevention of Athletic Injuries (Irvine Valley College, Fall semester)
• Health and Injury in High Impact Activity (UCI Dance 104, Spring)
• Kinesiology (Dance 100)
• Physiology (Bio Sci or JC)
• Anatomy (JC)
• Exercise Physio (Bio Sci 183, Fall quarter)
• Nutrition (Bio Sci 8)
• Peer Health Advisor (Health education / Social Ecology)
• Sports Psychology (UCI Dr. Stephanie McEwan)

UCI Sports Medicine welcomes students with an interest in Sports Medicine, Athletic Training and Physical Therapy. UC Irvine and UC Irvine Sports Medicine has created many opportunities for our interns and staff over the years. Our internship alumni continue to grow in number. Our goal with the volunteer experience in sports medicine is to offer student experiences working in the field of sports medicine, physical therapy and athletic training. Additionally, observers will see what Orthopedic Surgeons, Primary Care Sports Medicine Physicians, and Podiatrists do in their fields.

If you have any further questions, please contact us.

Sports Medicine Internship Applications

Sports Medicine Internship Information Sheet
Sports Medicine Internship Application
Student Intern Quarter Class Schedule