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Athletic Trainers are not personal trainers.
Athletic Trainers are not personal trainers.
Athletic Trainers (ATs) are certificated, multi-skilled health care professionals who practice in the field of sports medicine. An athletic trainer specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of muscle and bone injuries and illnesses, and is educated in emergency care for catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord injuries, sudden cardiac arrest, heat illness and concussions.
Athletic Trainers:
Must obtain, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from an accredited university or college and complete appropriate clinical training (this requirement has changed to a Master’s degree starting 2022).
Must pass a comprehensive exam to earn the athletic trainer (ATC) credential from the Board of Certification, (BOC).
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 and to a national code of ethics.
Athletic trainers work in a variety of settings, including schools, colleges, professional sports, clinics, hospitals, corporations, industry, performing arts venues, municipalities (e.g. fire and police departments), and the military.
(Differences between an "Athletic Trainer" and a personal "trainer")
Athletic Training Education
Athletic Training Education
Per the NATA
Athletic training education uses a competency-based approach in both the classroom and clinical settings. Using a medical-based education model, athletic training students are educated to provide comprehensive patient care in five domains of clinical practice:
prevention
clinical evaluation and diagnosis
immediate and emergency care
treatment and rehabilitation
organization and professional health and well-being.
The educational requirements for CAATE-accredited athletic training education programs include acquisition of knowledge, skills and clinical abilities along with a broad scope of foundational behaviors of professional practice. Students complete an extensive clinical learning requirement that is embodied in the clinical integration proficiencies (professional, practice oriented outcomes) as identified in the CAATE Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.
Students must receive formal instruction in the following specific subject matter areas identified in the Competencies:
Evidence-based practice
Prevention and health promotion
Clinical examination and diagnosis
Acute care of injury and illness
Therapeutic interventions
Psychosocial strategies and referral
Health care administration
Professional development and responsibility
(Source: CATA)
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