The Professional Elements of an Athletic Trainer

Athletic Training as a profession It is the biggest match of the year. The star athlete is in the middle of competition whendown she falls. No need to fear, an athletic trainer is near, but can you imagine if a trainer werenot available. The athlete may try to continue in spite of the pain, turning a minor injury into asevere injury that could possibly end her entire athletic career. For this reason a trainer is a vitalpart of any athletic department. My research focuses on the importance of qualified athletictrainers as a necessary and vital employee of any athletic program. The present and futuresuccess, safety and health of athletes depend on professional athletic trainers. Getting the education needed to be an athletic trainer is quite possibly the most difficultpart of the job, with the abundance of time and effort it takes. A student planning to enter thisfield must be very dedicated. Students in high school planning to go into the field of athletictraining should take some specific classes to better prepare themselves for their college career. The courses include biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, general science, first aid andhealth.(Patton 11) Certified athletic trainers have, at minimum, a bachelor's degree, usually in athletictraining, health, physical education or exercise science.(Edelson 7) In addition, athletic trainersstudy human anatomy, human physiology, biomechanics, exercise physiology, athletic training,nutrition and psychology/counseling.(Edelson 7) Trainers are educated in prevention of athleticinjuries, recognition, evaluation, immediate care, rehabilitation and reconditioning of athleticinjuries. Certified athletic trainers also participate in extensive clinical affiliations with athleticteams under appropriate supervision.(Kraus 8) Moore 2 Most often a certified athletic trainer enters the work force as a teacher/athletic trainer ata high school. Trainers at high schools work only after school for a few hours, teaching duringthe day would be ideal. They may also be employed by colleges and universities, professionalsports teams, corporate health programs, and hospitals. They work with athletes, coaches,physicians, and other health care providers to combine training, therapy, and teaching. The hours a trainer works depends greatly on game and practice schedules. Trainers mustwork when the athletes work The work schedule includes night and weekends and also involvetraveling with teams. A person who becomes a trainer must be flexible and willing to adapt to

the everyday changes. An athletic trainer can expect a starting wage of $20,000 to $40,000 per year. Years ofexperience can produce an annual salary of $40,000 to $80,000.(Patton 17) Trainers who areaffiliated with professional organizations such as the NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB can enjoy sixfigure salaries and plenty of travel time.(Athletic Trainer) Being a professional trainer is muchlike a professional athlete, there are few positions and every trainer dreams of landing one ofthose jobs.(Athletic Trainer) The typical day for a certified athletic trainer varies with the level of competition. Beforepractice, the athletic trainer tapes, bandages, wraps, braces and completes similar preventivemeasures.(Patton 3) During practice, the athletic trainer evaluates injuries and determineswhether to refer athletes to a physician or follow standing orders and manage minorinjuries.(Mangi 12) The athletic trainer must ensure continual communication between the Moore 3 injured athlete, physician, coach and family on when and how the athlete can return to practiceand competition.(Patton 13) As specialists in the prevention, recognition and rehabilitation of injuries incurred byathletes, athletic trainers administer immediate emergency care and use their knowledge of theinjuries incurred by the physically active individual and the factors influencing them to develop atreatment program based on medical, exercise and sports sciences. There is tremendous growth potential for high school athletic trainers. Traditionally,these jobs have been as a teacher/athletic trainer, but a new trend is to hire athletic trainers asallied health care providers without teaching responsibilities. Clinic jobs have been the mostpopular entry-level position in recent years. Many times these athletic trainers work in the clinicin the morning, providing very similar services as physical therapists, and then in the afternoonswork in the high school, providing a "community service" on behalf of the clinic. However, thosejobs are decreasing in today's managed care environment.(Edelson 19) Although athletic training was once considered a male-dominated profession, more than40% of all members of the National Athletic Trainers' Association are women. As of January1990, more than half of the athletic trainers certified by the NATA have been women.(AthleticTrainer) From my research I have realized for anyone to become an athletic trainer they must be avery hard working student. Someone who works well with other people and has an interest insports would surely enjoy this occupation.