Authors: Deena Alsabbah, Alexis Shook, Brian Atkinson, and Graham Grush
Background: Pharmacists have proven valuable across various clinical areas and interprofessional teams, especially in ambulatory care settings, improving health outcomes and quality of care. Within the past few decades, sports medicine pharmacy has emerged as a unique specialty, ranging from counseling individuals in local club sports and fitness to advising elite Olympic athletes. Despite this, sports or sports medicine pharmacy remains underrepresented in pharmacy education and practice. The aim of this project was to design a guide for becoming a sports medicine pharmacist in the ambulatory care setting that addresses roles and responsibilities, areas for interprofessional collaboration, and resources to expand knowledge and networking opportunities.
Methods: A literature review was conducted to gather information on sports pharmacy organizations and resources, education and training opportunities, and roles and responsibilities. A 13-question qualitative survey was also distributed to practicing sports pharmacists within 3 sports pharmacy organizations (Sports Pharmacy Network, International Sports Pharmacist Network, and/or U.S. Sports Pharmacy Group) to obtain perspectives on current practice. Responses were summarized to highlight most common themes.
Results: This abstract describes results from the qualitative survey and how it translates to ambulatory care practice.
Survey respondents (n = 14) reported diverse practice backgrounds across multiple settings, including ambulatory care, independent community pharmacy, student health, athletics, acute care, and scientific writing. The majority of respondents had been practicing for 2-5 years (42.9%), followed by 10-20+ years (35.7%), and 0-1 years (21.4%). 78.6% of respondents reported working with nutritionists, as well as physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, athletic trainers, physical therapists, sports psychologists, and sports dentists. The most common roles and responsibilities included medication and therapeutic management (50%), clinical assessment and screening (28.6%), personalized care and performance planning (28.6%), consultation and education (71.4%), and scientific and educational content development (21.4%). Respondents frequently managed conditions such as pain and injury, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), mental health disorders, infectious diseases, and many more.
Primary barriers to sports pharmacy practice included lack of buy-in and awareness from other parties and sustainable reimbursement. Funding sources varied considerably, with 42.8% of respondents receiving private or cash payments, while others relied on educational sites and programs or additional employment.
Conclusions: There are a variety of ways pharmacists can make an impact in sports medicine, particularly in ambulatory care settings. Resources and organizations, like the International Sports Pharmacists Network, Global DRO, WADA, and Sports Pharmacy Network, are just a few of many that provide the necessary education, skills, and networking opportunities for pharmacists and student pharmacists to enter a career path caring for a unique patient population.
