The Role and Impact of an Athletic Trainer

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During a football playoff game, your is driving down the field to score, when the quarterback’s ankle gets stepped on by another player. The athlete, the player, the coach and the fans are all counting on the athletic trainer to get that player ready to go back into the game. The athletic trainer would need to help get the player back on the field if possible.This is why I would like to be an athletic trainer. Athletic trainers specialize in areas of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, assessment, and rehabilitation. With this degree my choices of employment can be numerous from working with a sports team to in the healthcare field.

Athletic training “specializes in six professional practice areas or domains: prevention; clinical evaluation …show more content…

According to Connie Peterson, in her book entitled Athletic Training , “The medical gymastae (trainers) were said to posses ideas of the effect of diet, rest, and exercise on the development of the body. Hippocrates, the “father of modern medicine,” and his student Claudius Galen often advised their patients to exercise in the gymnasia as a means of recovering from their ills” (Peterson 275).

Peterson talks about how, the trainers in 1900s were responsible for what a team manager might do today. It was not until 1914 when Samuel E. Bilik was hired as a part time athletic trainer for Illinois University. He published his first book, Athletic Training, two years after his employment as an athletic trainer. He then offered classes on athletic training topics (Peterson 276).

The athletic training profession has evolved from minimal responsibilities to what it is today. The role of an athletic trainer is to help prevent, diagnose, and treat injuries for people of all ages. In sports, work environments, military and any environment that people are active in. Some of the duties of an athletic trainer during a typical day are as follows: recognize and evaluate an injury, apply tape or braces, provide emergency care, help with rehabilitation programs, produce treatment plans and along with other tests …show more content…

Trainers that work at non athletic jobs may have a more set schedule with set hours. These hours can average between 40 and 50 hours per week (nata.org).

According to US Bureau of Labor says, the salary with a bachelor degree is approximately 54,000 and up depending on the location of the employment (bis.gov). Nearly 70 percent of Athletic trainers have either a master’s or a doctoral degree which would influence the salary (nata.org). Most Athletic trainers are full time with benefits. Athletic training is a growing field with increased opportunity to get employment. The projected growth rate for Athletic trainers is 37% . Numerous states are trying to have more accessibility for high schools to have athletic trainers.

Students that are interested in becoming an Athletic trainer must have a degree an accredited athletic training college. The college needs to have an accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs-CAAHEP. The school would offer classes like First Aid and Emergency care, Assessment of Injury, Human Anatomy

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