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IUP Sports Medicine Department
Who Is a Certified Athletic Trainer?
The Certified Athletic Trainer is
an individual that is highly skilled and educated in the prevention,
evaluation, care, and rehabilitation of athletic-related injuries.
He/She is concerned, not only with the optimum performance of the
athlete, but also, with the overall, long-tem health of the
student-athlete. The combination of these factors renders this person
uniquely qualified in the management of athletic injuries.
To become eligible to
sit for the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of
Certification Exam, candidates must me accepted into an accredited
curriculum athletic training program. Candidates must complete all
required courses and practical testing. Candidates must graduate with a
minimum of a Bachelor’s degree. The exam is an intense examination
consisting of a 150 question multiple choice portion, a written
simulation, and a practical exam. In order to become a certified
athletic trainer, a candidate must pass all portions of the
examination.
Once certified, most
athletic trainers continue their education in order to get a Master’s
Degree. Most colleges and universities require their certified staff
have a Master’s Degree. Certified athletic trainers that choose to
teach within an accredited curriculum program go on to get their Ph.D.
In order to maintain
certification, ATCs must complete 75 hours of continuing education every
three years. The CEUs must come from various domains within the
continuing education guidelines. These domains consist of education,
speaking at clinics and symposiums, maintaining CPR certification,
attending clinics and symposiums, completing written testing, and
continuing coursework for a related degree.
Certified athletic
trainers work in various settings. The type of and extent of care given
is dictated by the type of setting in which an ATC is employed.
Regardless of work setting, the job of an ATC falls within these five
domains: (1) prevention of athletic injuries, (2) recognition,
evaluation, and immediate care of injuries, (3) rehabilitation and
reconditioning of athletic injuries, (4) health care administration, and
(5) professional development and responsibility.
The certified athletic
trainer is recognized as an allied health medical professional. ATC’s
are currently falling under the same guidelines and medical governing as
physicians and other allied health professionals. In the commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, ATC’s are governed by the State Board of Medicine. All
ATC’s must be licensed by this Board, and they are subject to the same
scrutiny as all medical professionals.
In order to practice
athletic training, the ATC must work under a set of Standard Operating
Procedures. These procedures are established in conjunction with the
team physician, the athletic training staff, and the medical guidelines
of the State Board of Medicine. All ATC’s in a collegiate and high
school setting work under a team physician. Once an athlete is seen by
a physician, that physician has final say in care, limitations, and
clearance.
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