Developing a new specialty – sport and exercise medicine in the UK

ping a new specialty – sport and exercise medicine in the UK Perspectives (4430) Total Article Views Authors: Michael Cullen Published Date March 2010 Volume 2010:1 Pages 11 - 14 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S7627 Michael Cullen Department of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, UK Abstract: Sports physicians have existed since ancient times. However as a recognised specialty, sports medicine is a relatively new discipline and even today very few countries have formal postgraduate training programmes which allow doctors to pursue a career in this discipline. This paper outlines the development of sport and exercise medicine in the United Kingdom, describing the journey leading to specialty recognition in 2005 and the progress being made towards establishing it as an integral component of the National Health Service in the 21st century.