Athletic Trainers
The FACTS About Certified Athletic Trainers and The National Athletic Trainers' Association
1. FACT: All athletic trainers have a bachelor's degree from
an accredited college or university. Athletic trainers are health care professionals
equivalent
to physical,occupational, speech, language and other similar therapists.
ALL certified or licensed athletic trainers must have a bachelor's or
master's degree from an accredited college or university. Degrees are
complementary to accredited athletic training majors and include established
academic curricula. Athletic trainers' bachelor's degrees are in
pre-medical sciences, kinesiology, exercise physiology, biology, exercise science
or physical education. Academic programs are accredited through an independent
process by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
(CAAHEP) via the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Athletic Training (JRC-AT).
2. FACT: The following educational content standards are required for athletic
training degree programs:
•
Acute care of injury and illness
•
Assessment of injury and illness
•
Exercise physiology
•
General medical conditions and disabilities
•
Health care administration
•
Human anatomy
•
Human physiology
•
Kinesiology/biomechanics
•
Medical ethics and legal issues
•
Nutritional aspects of injury and illness
•
Pathology of injury and illness
•
Pharmacology
•
Professional development and responsibilities
•
Psychosocial intervention and referral
•
Risk management and injury/illness prevention
•
Statistics and research design
•
Strength training and reconditioning
•
Therapeutic exercise and rehabilitative techniques
•
Therapeutic modalities
•
Weight management and body composition
The competency areas are as follows:
•
Risk Management and Injury Prevention
•
Pathology of Injury and Illness
•
Assessment and Evaluation
•
Acute Care of Injury and Illness
•
Pharmacology
•
Therapeutic Modalities
•
Therapeutic Exercise
•
General Medical Conditions and Disabilities
•
Nutritional Aspects of Injury and Illness
•
Psychosocial Intervention and Referral
•
Health Care Administration
•
Professional Development and Responsibilities
3. FACT: 70 percent of athletic trainers have a master's degree
or doctorate.
Certified athletic trainers are highly educated. Seventy (70) percent of
ATC credential holders have a master's degree or more advanced degree. Reflective
of the broad base of skills valued by the athletic training profession, these
master's degrees may be in athletic training (clinical), education, exercise
physiology, counseling or health care administration or promotion. This great
majority of practitioners who hold advance degrees is comparable to other allied
health care professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists,
registered nurses, speech therapists and many other health care practitioners.
4. FACT: Athletic trainers know and practice the medical arts at the highest professional standards.
Athletic trainers specialize in injury and illness prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for all physically active people, including the
general public.
5. FACT: Athletic trainers are regulated and licensed health care workers.
While practice act oversight varies by state, the athletic trainer practices
under state statutes recognizing them as health care professionals similar
to physical therapists, occupational therapists and similar professionals.
Athletic training licensure/regulation exists in 43 states, with aggressive
efforts underway to pursue licensure in the remaining states. Athletic trainers
practice under the direction of physicians.
6. FACT: An independent national board certifies athletic trainers.
The independent Board of Certification Inc. (BOC) nationally certifies athletic
trainers. Athletic trainers must pass an examination and hold a bachelor's
degree to become an Athletic Trainer, Certified (ATC). To retain certification,
ATC credential holders must obtain 80 hours of medically related continuing
education credits every three years and adhere to a Code of Ethics. The BOC
is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.
7. FACT: Athletic trainers are recognized allied health care professionals.
ATCs are highly qualified, multi-skilled allied health care professionals and
have been part of the American Medical Association's Health Professions
Career and Education Directory for more than a decade. Additionally, the
American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics and
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine – among others – are
all strong clinical and academic supporters of athletic trainers.
8. FACT: More than 50 percent of NATA's certified athletic trainer
members work outside of school athletic settings and provide services to
physically
active people of all ages.
Certified athletic trainers work in physician offices as physician extenders.
They also work in rural and urban hospitals, hospital emergency rooms, urgent
and ambulatory care centers, military hospitals, physical therapy clinics,
high schools, colleges/universities, commercial settings, professional sports
teams and performing arts companies. They are multi-skilled health care workers
who, like others in the medical community with science-based degrees, are in
great demand because of the continuing and increasing shortage of registered
nurses and other health care workers. The skills of ATCs have been sought and
valued by sports medicine specialists
and other physicians for more than 50 years. As the U.S. begins its fight against
the obesity epidemic, it is important that people have access to health care
professionals who can support lifelong physical activity.
9. FACT: Athletic trainers have designated CPT/UB Codes.
The American Medical Association (AMA) granted Current Procedural Terminology
(CPT) codes for athletic training evaluation and re-evaluation (97005, 97006)
in 2000. The codes became effective in 2002. In addition, the American Hospital
Association established Uniform Billing (UB) codes — or revenue codes — for
athletic training in 1999, effective 2000.
10. FACT: CPT and UB codes are not provider specific.
The AMA states that the term “provider,” as found in the Physical
Medicine section of the CPT code, is a general term used to define the individual
performing the service described by the code. According to the AMA, the term “therapist” is
not intended to denote any specific practice or specialty field. Physical therapists
and/or any other type of therapists are not the exclusive providers of general
physical medicine examinations, evaluations and interventions. Similar to the
athletic training evaluation and re-evaluation codes, other therapists have
their own specific evaluation codes.
11. FACT: ATCs improve patient functional and physical outcomes.
Results from a nationwide Medical Outcomes Survey conducted 1996-1998 demonstrate
that care provided by ATCs effects a significant change in all outcomes variables
measured, with the greatest change in functional outcomes and physical outcomes.
The investigation indicates that care provided by ATCs generates a change
in health-related quality of life patient outcomes.
(ref: Albohm MJ, Wilkerson GB. An outcomes
assessment of care provided by certified athletic trainers. J Rehabil. Outcomes
Meas.
1999; 3(3):51-56.)
12. FACT: ATCs frequently work in rural, frontier and medically underserved
areas and with physically active people of all ages.
ATCs are accustomed to working in urgent care environments that have challenging
sometimes even adverse work and environmental conditions. The athletic training
tradition and hands-on clinical and academic education combine to create a
health care professional who is flexible and inventive ideal managers of patient
care and health care delivery. ATCs are generally a replacement not an addition
to other types of physical medicine therapies performed. ATCs are an “or” not
an “and”; therefore, costs for providing therapy are not increased
with the use of athletic training services.
13. FACT: ATCs specialize in patient education to prevent injury and re-injury
and reduce rehabilitative and other health care costs.
Recent studies, reports, outcomes measures surveys, total joint replacement
studies and many other case studies demonstrate how the services of ATCs save
money for employers and improve quality of life for patients. For each $1 invested
in preventive care, employers gained up to a $7 return on investment according
to one NATA survey. The use of certified athletic trainers supports a market-driven
health care economy that increases competition in order to reduce patient and
disease costs. Through the use of proper rehabilitation and evaluation, athletic
trainers prevent re-injury. The patient's standard of care is enhanced,
not sacrificed, with
ATCs.
14. FACT: ATCs provide the same or better outcomes in clinical settings as
other providers, including physical therapists.
Results of a comparative analysis of care provided by certified athletic trainers
and physical therapists in a clinical setting indicated ATCs provide the same
levels of outcomes, value and patient satisfaction as physical therapists in
a clinical setting (ref: Reimbursement of Athletic Training by Albohm, MJ;
Campbell, Konin, pp.25). Patient satisfaction ratings are more than 96 percent
when treatment is provided by ATCs.
15. FACT: The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents
30,000 members.
The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA), founded in 1950,
represents more than 30,000 members of the international profession. Of the
total membership, 24,000 are ATCs, representing more than 90 percent of all
athletic trainers practicing in the United States. Annual membership retention
averages 92 percent. NATA accurately claims the distinction of representing
the great majority of athletic training professionals.
Facts about Athletic Training National Athletic Trainers' Association
www.NATA.org; info@nata.org 2952 Stemmons Frwy.
V 214.637.6282 • F 214.637.2206 Dallas, Texas 75247
