by John Heck, ATC, Connecticut
College
When one hears the term sports
medicine they often think of
orthopedic surgeons. However,
sports medicine is an umbrella
term used to describe a
collection of professions
related to athletic health care.
If one were to examine all the
domains that sports medicine
encompasses, they would soon
find that Certified Athletic
Trainers are the quintessential
sports medicine providers, as
their breadth of knowledge and
practical skills best embodies
the term, incorporating many
aspects of the individual
domains into one profession.
Athletic training is a
paramedical profession practiced
by highly skilled health care
professionals called Certified
Athletic Trainers. Certified
Athletic Trainers collaborate
with physicians to optimize
patient and client activity and
participation in athletics, work
and life. The practice of
athletic training encompasses
the prevention, examination and
diagnosis, treatment, and
rehabilitation of emergent,
acute, subacute, and chronic
neuromusculoskeletal conditions
and certain medical conditions
in order to minimize subsequent
impairments, functional
limitations, disability, and
societal limitations.
Certified Athletic Trainers must
graduate from an accredited
professional athletic training
education program and pass a
national certification exam
administered by the independent
Board of Certification to ensure
they are proficient in hundreds
of medical competencies.
Additionally, while required to
hold at least a bachelor’s
degree, over 70% have earned
master’s degrees. Certified
Athletic Trainers are also
required to complete 75 hours of
continuing medical education
every three years, and 39 of the
50 states require state
licensure to practice.
Unfortunately, the title
“athletic training” does not
adequately represent the
profession, and Certified
Athletic Trainers are often
confused with personal fitness
trainers. This mistake is
perpetuated by the common use of
the term “trainer” rather than
the proper, “athletic trainer.”
Currently, athletic training is
recognized by the American
Medical Association as an allied
health profession and is
involved only in part with what
one would describe as the
training of athletes.
Certified athletic trainers
working in a traditional
athletics setting provide an
extraordinary continuity of
medical care, which is unique to
the profession. Typically, when
an athlete suffers an injury,
the athletic trainer is on the
sideline and observes the injury
occur, then immediately performs
a brief on-field examination to
decide if, and how, to remove
the athlete from the playing
surface. If the player is not to
be moved, the athletic trainer
immediately enacts a previously
prepared emergency action plan,
and begins providing emergency
care. If the athlete can be
safely moved, a thorough
off-field examination begins.
Within minutes of the occurrence
of injury, the non-emergently
injured athlete has received two
examinations, a diagnosis, and
initial injury care. If the
standard of care for the injury
is beyond the scope of the
athletic trainers’ practice, the
athletic trainer will then refer
the athlete to the appropriate
professional. However, the
majority of injuries are cared
for by the athletic trainer from
the initial injury through full
resolution. Even those athletes
that are referred to another
health care professional for
further evaluation or care are
most often referred back to the
athletic trainer, who
coordinates and monitors the
treatment plan for the injured
athlete, for continued
treatment.
Bio
John Heck is a Board of
Certification Certified and
State Licensed Athletic Trainer
who currently practices at
Connecticut College in New
London, CT, providing sports
medicine services for their
intercollegiate athletics teams.
Mr. Heck graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree from
the professional athletic
training education program at
the Pennsylvania State
University, and has also earned
a Master of Science in health
and physical education from the
East Stroudsburg University of
Pennsylvania. He also holds
additional certifications as a
Certified Strength and
Conditioning Specialist, and
Emergency Medical Technician.
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Certified
Athletic Trainer
Patrick Olsen, MS,ATC,AT/L
attends to a South Kitsap High
School (WA) athlete before a
game. Patrick is Head of
Athletic Medicine at the school
which has won numerous national
awards for its sports medicine
program |