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.
Class of 2028 Student Leadership:
Kimberly Larson
Lynnette Valencia
Shaylan Bera
Kinsley Wang
Faculty/Physician Sponsors:
Dr. Erik Dean:
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/