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Who will you scream for when this happens to YOUR child?

By Ian Rogol

It is a cool evening and you have finally reached your seat. It is just another event where you are watching your pride and joy, your child, participate in another contest.

The game is moving along and everything appears to be fine, then “it” happens.

An athlete goes down!

The medical staff moves onto the field to evaluate and assess the situation. Now the question is, “Who is the medical staff?"

Who are the individuals caring for the athlete?

Both are very good questions.

Now, why am I writing this article? Well, March is National Athletic Training Month. This is a month to celebrate the role of the athletic trainer within the realm of sport and the physically active.

What are his/her background and skills?

An athletic trainer has a bachelor’s degree from an independent accredited College or University program indorsed by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). Seventy percent of athletic trainers have decided to obtain further education in the form of master’s or doctoral degree in a relevant field.

Athletic trainers are recognized as health care professionals by The American Medical Association’s Health Care Professional Career and Education Directory. An independent National Board, Board of Certification (BOC), certifies athletic trainers with a computer-based testing system. All athletic trainers must pass this credentialing examination to become a certified athletic trainer (ATC).

The credential exam tests specific competencies in the following general areas:
• Risk Management and Injury Prevention
• Pathology of Injury and Illness
• Assessment and Evaluation of sports injuries
• Acute Care of Injury and Illness
• Pharmacology
• Therapeutic Modalities
• Therapeutic Exercise
• General Medical Conditions and Disabilities
• Nutritional Aspects of Injury and Illness
• Psychosocial Intervention and Referral
• Health Care Administration
• Professional Development and Responsibilities

Athletic trainers provide health care for many physically active individuals. More than 50% of all ATC’s are employed outside of the school athletic setting and provide medical coverage to physically active people of all ages. Certified athletic trainers work as physician extenders. They may work in a variety of hospital settings, for example: emergency departments and ambulatory care centers.

The military employs many athletic trainers to work with solders who have suffered an injury. Performing arts companies hire athletic trainers along with physical therapy clinics, high school, Colleges/Universities, and profession sports teams.

For many years, the general public has confused the certified athletic trainer and the personal fitness trainer. An athletic trainer differs from a personal fitness trainer in several aspects. Although both work with athletes and a physically active population, an athletic trainer meets the qualifications set by a state licensing board and/or the Board of Certification, Inc. and practices athletic training under the direction of a physician.

A personal trainer is one who prescribes mentors and changes an individual’s specific exercise program in a fitness or sports setting.

Certified Athletic Trainers:
• Must keep their knowledge and skills current by participating in continuing education
• Must adhere to standards of professional practice set by one national certifying agency

Daily duties:
• Provide physical medicine and rehabilitation services
• Prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate injuries (acute and chronic)
• Coordinate care with physicians and other allied health professionals
Personal Trainers:
• May or may not have higher education in health sciences
• May or may not be required to obtain certification
• May or may not participate in continuing education
• May become certified by any one of numerous agencies that set varying education and practice requirements

Daily duties
• Assess fitness needs and design appropriate workout regimens
• Work with clients to achieve fitness goals
• Help educate the public about the importance of physical activity
• Work in health clubs, wellness centers and various other locations where fitness activities take place.

On the other hand, an athletic trainer’s role and education are more closely related to those of the Physical therapist (PT). Although they are not identical, they are very similar.

Physical therapist are health care professionals, who diagnose and treat people of all ages, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives.

Physical therapists must have a graduate degree from an accredited physical therapy program before taking the national licensure examination. The minimum educational requirement is a master's degree, although most educational programs now offer a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree.

Physical therapists practice in many of the same settings as the athletic trainer such as hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, homes, education or research centers, schools, hospices, corporate or industrial health centers, athletic facilities, and other settings.

One major difference between the physical therapist and athletic trainer is the effective management of day-to-day sports injury needs of a team and walking the sidelines of a game to provide the triage care that is a primary focus of an athletic trainer.

In the same regard, the physical therapist may work with a patient population that the athletic trainer does not, for example those who have suffered strokes or burns.

In summary, there are three groups who may work with athletes. Two are licensed health care professionals, the athletic trainer and physical therapist, who may evaluate and treat athletes. Their training and skills overlap in a number of instances but their focus is often quite different. Both are trained in the rehabilitation of athletic injuries.

The fitness instructor is trained to help individuals meet their fitness needs in a safe and effective manner.

You can visit NATA.org for more information.

Ian Rogol is the head athletic trainer at Charlottesville High School. This is his first submission to CVaSports.com.

Posted by Ian Rogol on March 12, 2008 12:43 AM | Permalink

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