Career Development Series: Sports Medicine

Course Information:

This course contains a description of the vast roles and educational journeys in the fields of sports medicine and kinesiology. Phil Pavilionis, MS, LAT, ATC, CSCS, PES, FMS1 of the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno and Nicholas Murray, Ph.D of the Neuromechanics Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno describe the importance of goal-setting and determination that it takes to work in the field of sports medicine. The diverse careers in sports medicine and kinesiology are described and the presenters’ educational journeys are discussed. Advice for entering and succeeding in this field is explained.

The objective of the Career Development Series is to expose students to various career paths and skills to help them be successful as a public health professional once they graduate. Specifically, this course contains recorded content from the Careers in Public Health series where public health professionals from Northern Nevada speak about the vast world of public health. 

This series is aimed to help students identify careers in public health, learn how to apply, interview, and ultimately gain insight to what careers in public health look like. Students will learn special tips and tricks to get their foot in the door to land their dream career!  

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to: 

  1. Identify careers in public health.
  2. Understand the complexity of sports medicine and kinesiology.
  3. Recall the educational and career paths to land a career in sports medicine.
  4. Identify diverse roles and job descriptions in careers in sports medicine and kinesiology. 

Target Audience: 

  • Undergraduate and graduate public health students

Duration: ~1 hour

Continuing Education: N/A

Format: Web-based, asynchronous

Author/speaker(s): 

  • Phil Pavilionis, MS, LAT, ATC, CSCS, PES, FMS1
  • Nicholas Murray, Ph.D

About the Speakers

Phil Pavilionis, MS, LAT, ATC, CSCS, PES, FMS1 is a Certified Athletic Trainer and a full-time lecturer in the School of Public Health. He has over 20 years of experience working with high school, collegiate and professional athletes. Drawing from his experience as a Certified Athletic Trainer and former University of Nevada student-athlete, Phil’s research interest is in the areas of head injury prevention and virtual reality applications for concussion evaluation procedures. He holds a B.S. from the University of Nevada, Reno in Health Sciences, an M.S. from the California University of Pennsylvania in Exercise Science and is currently a Ph.D. student in the Integrative Neuroscience Program at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Nicholas Murray, Ph.D. is the director for the Neuromechanics Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno. This one-of-a-kind clinic and research laboratory provides valid and reliability assessments for sport-related concussion to aid in informing health care decisions. His unique background in Kinesiology and Neuroscience paired with his work in professional, collegiate and interscholastic sports allow him to have a diverse understanding of the role of public health in these disciplines.

Course Curriculum

  1. 01

    • Introduction to the Career Development Series

    • Demographic Survey
  2. 02

    • Sports Medicine

    • Feedback Survey Overview

    • Feedback Survey

    • Links to Resources and Career Sites