{"id":8391,"date":"2019-04-19T01:35:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T00:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=8391"},"modified":"2019-04-19T03:41:51","modified_gmt":"2019-04-19T02:41:51","slug":"a-taster-week-in-sports-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2019\/04\/19\/a-taster-week-in-sports-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"A taster week in sports medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gait Way to Sport and Exercise Medicine<\/span> \u2013<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>BJSM blog series\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By Dr Scott Osborne @DrScottOsborne<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A \u2018taster week\u2019 is the opportunity for newly qualified doctors in the UK to spend up to five days gaining experience in a specialty of their choice. Having previously worked with sports medicine consultant Dr Andrew Murray (@docandrewmurray<\/span><\/a>), I\u00a0arranged my five-day-taster through him and was lucky to work with the medical team at the 2019 European Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

The Local Organising Committee medical team services all 750 athletes and 1250 additional members of their teams at the event. The medical team\u00a0consisted of doctors, physiotherapists and podiatrists. Of the doctors, there were a variety of consultants and registrars from multiple specialties: sports medicine, GP, anaesthesia, emergency medicine, paediatrics and orthopaedics.\u00a0Medical care was provided at multiple venues in Glasgow, including a central polyclinic in the city centre, both training venues (Scotstoun Stadium and Tollcross International Swimming Centre), and the competition venue (Emirates Arena).<\/p>\n

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Figure 1: Transporting trackside equipment in Glasgow sun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Figure 2: Medical room with physiotherapy services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My experience\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I helped assess patients that presented with head injuries, lacerations, viral illnesses, fractures, collapse, muscle strains, forgotten medications, and spinal immobilisation. The majority of these were able to be cared for immediately (e.g. reassurance, monitoring observations, simple prescriptions, ultrasonography) but some required referral to secondary care (e.g. more advanced radiology [X-ray or MRI], surgical washout for deep laceration). In these latter cases, the ability to liaise with a local emergency medicine consultant (Dr Jonathan Gordon) was paramount to streamline care for the athletes.<\/p>\n

What did I learn?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Comprehensive medical service for an event of this magnitude requires a lot of preparation. This includes recruiting doctors with appropriate skills,\u00a0sourcing equipment for both acute care and long-term management and managing the logistics of mobile medical services.<\/p>\n

Here are\u00a0some\u00a0tips for making the most in a new job environment:<\/p>\n