Orthopedic surgeons must be board certified. There are about 30 to 50 openings a year. Winters are busy at Lake Placid, but physicians are needed virtually year-round at Colorado Springs. Volunteers cover athletes who are training for 41 Olympic sports. Daily schedules for physicians are irregular and depend on athlete practice schedules.
Physicians can apply anytime throughout the year, and applications are filed by date of receipt.
Event coverage comes by invitation from the pool of volunteers who have worked at the training centers. Invitations are made based on evaluation on the USOC medical staff. The US Olympic medical team is chosen from the pool of people who have covered international competitions. So that as many doctors can participate as possible, an individual can only serve at the Olympic training center once and can only work at each international event once. The McGraw-Hill Companies.