What's in a Name?

The regular debate on changing the title of our profession has fired up once again.  I think the movement is an interesting one and I understand the impetus behind it. 

That said, I can't imagine undoing the 60+ years of history and work and our most recent public relations successes just to start over. 

Athletic training is gaining ground in our battle.  Proper terminology by our practitioners, patients and the media is leading to a wider understanding of our skill set and state legislation related to concussions is shining a light on the lack of adequate health care in many secondary schools.

CNN has become a great advocate for athletic training, most recently highlighting our profession in Dr. Sanjay Gupta (a neurosurgeon, by the way) documentary on concussions: Big Hits, Broken Dreams.

Dr. Gupta even goes so far, on his blog, to say the following:
"...There are ways to play football more safely, and still win.

Whether it is the mandatory presence of athletic trainers who can diagnose concussions and are empowered to sit a player out..."

An endorsement of our skills from a widely recognized neurosurgeon!  That's big.
A year ago I posted this...JUSTIFIED and I feel in one year we have made even more progress.



Are we there yet? No, but I don't think a name change is going to bridge the gap.

What name would adequately encapsulate our skills and give us the recognition we so desire?
Sports Therapist or Athletic Therapist?
Active Sports Medicine Therapist and First Responder?
Preventative Athletic Rehabilitator?

Even if we do make a change, we would be referenced like this: "the athletic therapist, formerly athletic trainer..."

Do we really want to be known as "the profession formerly known as athletic trainer?"

Instead of focusing on the name, how about we continue our push for public recognition and the ground we are gaining won't be lost.


The one thing I want to leave my children is an honorable name.

Theodore Roosevelt

What would you do?

As many of you know, watching live television is generally not much of an option for athletic trainers. My husband (also an athletic trainer) and I have reverted to our old favorites on DVD and ‘ER’ is the current choice. Just the other night we were watching an early episode that focused on the hospital being a ‘teaching hospital.’ As a teaching focused medical center, monthly or weekly the resident physicians would all gather with the chief attending and discuss cases. To begin a resident physician would present the case and how they treated the patient, then the question was asked to the rest of the group, "What would you do?" As you can imagine some of the physicians were defensive but at the end of the day everyone was able to learn from each situation.

I know that our profession is improving in sharing and discussing different topics and situations especially through the message boards, blogs and published case studies, but I wonder, how often do you sit down with your fellow colleagues and ask,

“What would you do?”

And are you prepared for an answer that is completely different that yours?

By allowing discussion we can all grow, as students we often read and presented case studies, after only 3 years in the profession on my own, I have noticed that I have fallen out of the practice of asking another athletic trainer about their ideas or other innovative ways to do something. It is difficult for me to have someone critique the care that I chose to provide for a patient but I firmly believe that by continually learning, and sharing and asking for critique we can ensure that the best care is given.

So I would like to ask if there are any of you that as a group of professionals regularly present cases and discuss different treatment options and if this is a positive model for athletic trainers?

What do our athletic training students think about themselves?

As an athletic trainer at a high school, I sometimes wonder the different goals that our student athletic trainers are trying to pursue/reach while in the athletic training program. On the other hand, I was curious to know how our students viewed their own attitudes and personality traits/characteristics while in the athletic training program. In most athletic training programs, you tend to see a lot of different personality and behavior characteristics, which tend to change over time. This is possibly due to the increased amount of interaction between different individuals, such as other student athletic trainers, athletes, and coaches.

At the beginning of the year, we try to express the different expectations that we have while the students are in the program. Some of the basic expectations that we have but not limited to: positive attitude, being proactive, professional appearance, leadership, punctuality, enthusiasm, and reliability. With that being said, we always found ourselves having meetings with our students because one or more of them were falling short of our expectations.

At the end of football season, I decided to create a self-evaluation document for our students to fill out based on how they felt about themselves. While in college, the athletic training students always had to complete a self-evaluation, so I thought it would be a great idea to modify the questions as it relates to the high school setting. The choices that they were to choose from were: Not yet experienced, Below Average, Average, Above Average, and Excellent.

This was just a completion grade for our students, because it would be inappropriate for them to receive a grade based on how they felt about their own characteristics. Not all students possess the same level of each quality as compared to their peers. As the responses came in, it was interesting to see how the students rated themselves. The students that we believed to be better at certain qualities when compared with their peers were consistent with the self-rated responses. On the flip side, those students that we felt needed to work on some qualities; it was consistent with their responses as well.

Another aspect of the evaluation was to see their goals that they might have set for being in the program. While some responses ranged from meeting people, extra-curricular activity, or feeling important, others wanted to pursue a degree within the health-care profession. Although we understand that not all of our students will continue on to become athletic trainers in college, it is important for us to not only promote the profession, teach them basic athletic training skills, but also teach them lessons about life in general and be their mentor when they need it.

After the evaluation was due, we asked our students thought about the assignment. Some thought it was silly, while others thought it was a good idea. Those who thought it was a good idea realized the areas in which they were weak and took that information and understand the qualities they might be able to work on. Overall, our students enjoyed the self-evaluation idea and would like to continue to evaluate themselves so they can gage their progress while in the athletic training program.

Therefore, with the evaluation being a success, I am able to take the information and help those who may be struggling in certain areas and provide them with some resources to achieve the excellence status.

So the question is…..how would your students rate themselves?

Perception is Reality

I've spoken many times on this blog and elsewhere about the need to brand athletic training.  Being seen as experts in athletic medicine and recognized, every time, as the go-to profession and a requirement when dealing with athletic injuries.

A large part of branding is perception; primarily public perception.  In order to get the recognition we want, we need the public to understand our role.  We have gotten better as a whole about not being foot stompers: demanding people address us "athletic trainer," and respect us for providing health care and not just "coverage" and rather commanding respect and modeling our requested actions.

What I have found, however, is that it only takes one single misstep to lose ground.  One event can alter perception to the point that it erases forward progress and damages an otherwise spotless reputation.

"Perception is reality." And when the perception being distributed to the public are things like these:

Athletic trainers are paid to keep the machine humming. The long-term health of the individual player is not their first concern; the health of the team is. The faster a trainer gets his players back on the field, the more likely he’ll be to keep his job.

The doctors and trainers didn't know McCoy had taken a helmet-to-helmet hit.

The implication that not all athletic trainers are created equal..."professional">high school, etc.

The situation in Cleveland is a difficult one, and I'm sure we've all experienced similar frustration.

Maintaining an united front and combating misconceptions, as the NATA did and continues to do will go a long way to bolster our reputation, but the larger burden falls on us, the clinicians.  We are the ones "in the mission field" on a daily basis and in every encounter with our patient, athletes, parents, etc.  We are all athletic trainers, with a unique skill set and expansive knowledge base.  Take your responsibility to yourself and the profession as a whole seriously.

A Short Soap-Box from a Short Athletic Trainer

I recently left the "traditional" setting of athletic training and took a job as a physician extender in an orthopedics office. I love it so far! I'm learning something new every single day. I have great patients and see something new every 15 minutes. My day is so wonderfully busy and I am so fulfilled by my new job.

I have integrated a pre-op appointment in our office. Its all about patient education and putting the patient's mind at ease. I issue cryotherapy, teach TENS application for post-operative pain, crutch fitting and gait training, and fit for braces. My athletic training education prepared me greatly for all of this.

I am able to listen to patients and identify their complaints. I assess their injuries and then summarize their complaints to the physician for a better focused encounter. My athletic training education prepared me greatly for this.

My first attempt at casting a thumb fracture got glowing reviews from my Doc. He asked "Where did you learn how to do that? That's a really great job." It was simple: my athletic training experience prepared me greatly for that, too.

At the first of the year, I will also be serving as a first assist in the operating room for my doctor. In order for me to do this, I had to pass the National Board of Certified Orthopedic Physician Assistant Exam. I studied hard. I read all of my athletic training texts cover to cover. My physician offered a few of his texts to me for additional study materials; I already owned all but one of those from, that's right, my athletic training education. By my good graces and hard work, I passed that test.

That OPA-C credential is now opening so many doors for me in regards to my orthopedic practice, but it was my athletic training education that made it possible. Why is my ATC not recognized in the same capacity?

My point is, we must continue to be involved in legislation to allow athletic trainers to serve in this capacity. We are all health care providers and we are prepared through our education to be excellent health care providers. Even if you are in a "traditional" setting, being the voice of our profession is imperative. I know of a few collegiate settings that are beginning to use the health care model and bill for services. There is absolutely no reason that these athletic trainers not be seen as health care providers that are skilled and worthy of doing so.

Woman are taking over our profession...or are they??

Indiana State University (yes, I may be slightly biased to them! GO SYCAMORES!) publishes research presenting data on: Age, Sex, and Setting Factors and Labor Force in Athletic Training.

What does this information show??? Well, in a nut shell....we see tons and tons of females getting into the Athletic Training Profession...however, what we don't talk about is the number getting out! Out of 18,571 AT's 52.1% were male and 47.9% were females. So, initally what would you think?? Well, yes, you would think the woman are catching up to the men...however, here is what we see....

"National employment trends have indicated an increase in female representation in the workforce from 40% in 1975 to 46% in 2005, with a projection that 51% of the workforce will be female by 2014.....Athletic training has incurred similar growth patterns since women first became athletic trainers (ATs) in 1956, with women now representing 48% of the athletic training population. Currently, 97.7% of all National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions employ ATs. However, a closer investigation of the ATs in the college or university, high school, and clinic populations reveals inequity. Less than one-third of NCAA in- stitutions have female head ATs. The populations of men and women appear comparable (22% of women and 23% of men are employed in the secondary school setting, 14% of women and 14% of men are employed in the college or university setting, and 22% of women and 23% of men are employed in the clinical setting." (btw I could absolutely do proper citing here; however, what fun would that be in a blog...I will provide the article information at the end of this segment!)

So, where is the major discrepancy...well, it seems everything is fair in love and war (i.e. woman and men) except for not many woman are head AT"s at a college...is this by choice or by sexism..YOU DECIDE..please leave me comments at the end of this blog!

Next thing about woman...."Female athletic trainers tended to leave the profession around age 28 years." Also, "Among female ATs, 45% stated that they changed job settings after having children. The changes were primarily from the college or university setting and might be based on multiple dy- namics, including irregular hours and flexibility of scheduling; regardless, these patterns mimic national data."

So, what does this suggest??? Well, even though we are increasing the number of female AT's coming in...we still cannot catch up to the male population because we have several females still leaving the profession, but can you blame them??? Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE advocate for Athletic Training, but sometimes I like to play the devils advocate!

I was once told by a doctor that I work with that you have to be a, "COMPLETE IDIOT to become a doctor...the hours...the years, the dedication...the stress...but at least I know my family is taken care of by the pay check I bring home...even if I'm not there all the time". Well, his phrase kind of rings home...the hours, the dedication, the stress, but the one thing we don't get is the pay. We cannot always say our families are well taken care of. After doing alot of research from salary surveys to my own personal surveys I am completely astonished at what some AT's are being offered. ...and I am not talking about a starter job that you know you will move out of because that is the realm of the job i.e. a "starter position" (even though those in themselves are a shame)...I am talking about good "experience needed" jobs. We are taking jobs that pay us peanuts, leaving some unable to pay off their bills and loans....unable to afford their car payments...or leaving them eating noddles 6 nights a week. WE as athletic trainers have to stand up for our profession. We tell our people to stand up for themselves and fight for their own salaries..and there is no doubt that this is needed...however, our profession needs to stand up for us too. We want so badly to care for our kids, but at what cost? There is no doubt an Athletic Trainer shoud be at every school...but at what cost??? So, that they can barely live a life and not be able to save money to take care of their family or even themselves years down the road. We cannot just think about the now, we MUST think about the future...the future of our profession including the FUTURE of OUR PROFESSIONALS.

So, this blog kind of points out a few things.....percentage of men vs woman in our profession, the fact that woman are leaving the profession ...and the question still remains to know exactly why...well, here is some more food for thought!!!! It's not just the hours....it's not just the stress.....because even doctors manage families with that....what about the pay????



Statistics a "quotes" come from the following research:

Age, Sex, and Setting Factors and Labor Force in Athletic Training
Leamor Kahanov, EdD, LAT, ATC; Lindsey E. Eberman, PhD, ATC
Department of Applied Science and Rehabilitation, Indiana State University, Terre Haute

Are You Prepared?

After watching those who live on the east coast last week scramble to find emergency supplies and create hurricane survival kits before Irene made landfall. It made me wonder, are we really prepared as athletic trainers to execute our emergency actions plans (EAP's) in a timely manor? When is the last time we practiced spine boarding or splinting, or even walked through our EAP's step by step?

If you are like me and live in traditional hurricane territory, you are prepared. You have a Hurricane kit, you have plan of attack if a Hurricane ever comes on land, and you watch the National Hurricane Center for updates almost on a daily basis during hurricane season. So how can we transfer our hurricane preparedness into Emergency preparedness in our role as an athletic trainer?

Providing immediate emergency care is a vital part of an athletic trainers existence, and emergency plans have to be rehearsed. This rehearsal provides team members a chance to maintain and improve their emergency skills at a high level. In addition, all equipment should be checked on a regular basis, but lets be honest when the last time you took out your splints and made sure they where in working order?

Today, I reviewed my EAP's with my Athletic Training Education Program students and at this point I do not believe they would be able to accurately implement it. I plan on using the next couple of days to allow them to become familiar with not only the plan and their role, but the equipment they may be asked to get and/or use.

I hope to never use my EAP's but as long as my team and I have rehearsed and our equipment is in working order I know everything will turn out for the best.

Below are some references for creating and implementing your own emergency action plans.

National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Emergency Planning in Athletics-http://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/EmergencyPlanningInAthletics.pdf

National Center for Sports Safety -http://www.sportssafety.org/articles/emergency-action-plan/

Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries, Prevention and Management, College Sports Medicine Foundation- http://www.csmfoundation.org/Center_Catastrophic_Prevention_Management.htm