Sports Medicine Interest Group (SMIG)

What do we do?

The Sports Medicine Interest Group at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix educates on the sports medicine sub-specialty in both primary care and orthopedic settings. Our club supports events throughout the year, including free sports physicals to local youth athletes, shadowing primary care physicians at high school football games, and assisting with event coverage at a number of Phoenix-area races and triathlons. These events provide excellent opportunities to practice interview and physical exam skills with patients of all ages. We hope to provide opportunities for students to learn about the cause, diagnosis, and treatment of sports-related injuries and the ways in which these injuries can be prevented. Our club also sponsors on-campus discussions and simulations given by sports medicine practitioners throughout the year. CHIP credit is offered to students who volunteer at specific Sports Medicine CHIP Program events in the community (see the "Sports Medicine CHIP Program" page).

Who can participate in our events?

Any medical students at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix can participate in the events we sponsor. There is no orientation required to participate, but first-year medical students may not participate in certain events (such as physical exams) until after Clinical Skills training in November of their first year. Because each event is unique, the dress code, length of time at each event, and what to bring to each event varies widely. Look out for emails, or email us at uacompsportsmed@gmail.com for specific information about our events.

Current Leadership 2024-2025

Faculty/Physician Sponsors:

Dr. Erik Dean: erikd@asmc.md

Dr. Kam Hunter: kam.hunter@bannerhealth.com

Dr. James Davidson: shoulders@gmail.com 

Dr. Leah Hillier: leah.hillier@bannerhealth.com 

Examples of Past Events

Medical students volunteered at the Iron Man Triathlon in Phoenix, AZ on November 20, 2022.

U of A Med students at West View High School speaking to their Health Occupation Student Association club about getting into medical school, how sports influenced our decision to pursue medicine, our pre-med curriculum, and what a future in sports medicine looks like. 

On Saturday, March 5, 2016, students attended the Current Topics In Sports Medicine Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. On behalf of the Sports Medicine Interest Group, students were invited to attend the event for free. Shown here (left to right) are conference hosts and UACOMP faculty Dr. Hirsch Handmaker and Dr. Jonny Lifshitz, as well as students Zachary Wilson, Gabriella Smith, Tanner Heckle, and Laura Hamant. Eight students from the College of Medicine attended the conference. 

Other Examples of Our Yearly Events:

• AZ Ironman Triathlon

• Rock n' Roll Marathon

• Pat's Run

• High School Football Shadowing

• AZ Sports Medicine Center Sports Physicals

• Central HS Sports Physicals

• TOPS Sports Physicals

• Mezona Sports Physicals

• Women's Football Sports Physicals

• Women's Football Shadowing

Past Club Leadership

2021-2022 Student Leadership

Asahi Murata: asahi3@email.arizona.edu

Garret Trang: gtrang@email.arizona.edu

Kendall Schwartz: kendallschwartz@email.arizona.edu

Milan Oxspring: oxspring@email.arizona.edu

2020-2021 Student Leadership

Aaron Llanes: aaronllanes@email.arizona.edu

Alexxa Wirth: wirth@email.arizona.edu

Tyler Vail: tvail@email.arizona.edu

2019-2020 Student Leadership

Patrick Mayolo: patrickmayolo@email.arizona.edu

Ty Carlson: carlsont@email.arizona.edu

2018-2019 Student Leadership:      

Rebecca Chun: rhchun@email.arizona.edu 

Casey Sedillo: csedillo@email.arizona.edu

2017-2018 Student Leadership:      

Erin Hartnett: erinhartnett@email.arizona.edu

Matthew Mitchell: mmitch30@email.arizona.edu

Megha Patel: mghptl96@email.arizona.edu

2016-2017 Student Leadership:

Matt Burnham: mburnham@email.arizona.edu

Matt Gulbrandsen: mattgulbrandsen@email.arizona.edu

Kyle Howarth: khowarth14@email.arizona.edu

Dylan Sabb: dmsabb@email.arizona.edu

Annie Serra: jes0724@email.arizona.edu

2015-2016 Student Leadership:

Tanner Heckle: tannerheckle@email.arizona.edu

2014-2015 Student Leadership:

Nate Jones: natejones@email.arizona.edu

Alex Weatherly: weather4@email.arizona.edu

2013-2014 Student Leadership:

Sarah Rubenstein: srubenstein@email.arizona.edu

2012-2013 Student Leadership:

Trenden Flanigan: tflanigan@email.arizona.edu

Matt Petterson: petterson@email.arizona.edu

Associated Websites

American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine - http://www.sportsmed.org/

American Medical Society for Sports Medicine - http://www.amssm.org/

American College of Sports Medicine - http://www.acsm.org/