For most of my adult life, I have been honored to call myself an athletic trainer. Ever since I figured out that I was not going to be successful at earning a living by playing sports, I decided to do something that matched my love of sport with my desire to take care of people...the perfect match is the profession of athletic training.
WHAT IS AN ATHLETIC TRAINER? taken from the National Athletic Trainers Association website (www.nata.org)
"Athletic training is practiced by athletic trainers, health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize activity and participation of patients and clients. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of emergency, acute, and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations, and disabilities."
It is important here to note that an athletic trainer is not to be confused with a personal trainer. Read more about that here.
An athletic trainer is not the person helping in the gym. An athletic trainer is not the person involved in these steroid scandals.
An athletic trainer is a key individual who can help promote quality healthcare in our schools. By partnering with other professionals working with the students (school nurse, team physician, etc.), the athletic trainer can help those who are physically active not only stay active, but also help to prevent injuries.
Read more about this here:
http://nata.org/statements/official/secondaryschool.pdf
If your school does not have access to an athletic trainer, start asking the administration this simple question: "WHY NOT?" If there is going to be any sports program at a school, why would there not be steps taken to insure the best level of healthcare for the athlete?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
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2 comments:
Hello, I am Jun.
I am an ATS in Oklahoma State University.
The situation that athletic trainers are confused with personal trainers also occurs in my country, Japan.
Even the U.S.A., some people don't know athletic trainers.
It made me surprised.
It will take time for people to recognize the difference, but we have to keep working to let them know.
Thanks Jun for your comment.
I am very glad to hear that it's not just here in the U.S.!
It will take us all never letting up on the educational process....never pass up an opportunity to tell folks about us & what we do!
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