User:BeauregardTA/Sandbox

Athletic training (AT), also known as athletic therapy, is an allied health care profession that provides sports medicine to physically active populations.

Working environments
The traditional setting for athletic trainers is embedded within a sports team. In the United States, over 40% of athletic trainers work at an educational institution, including universities, secondary schools, and middle schools, providing health care to student athletes. Athletic trainers in this setting are commonly present at practices and competitions to be able to serve as first responders and deliver care as needed. Providing care at practices and competitions commonly leads to long working hours, including nights and weekends.

Also in the United States, approximately 18% of athletic trainers work in a clinic setting. This includes sports medicine clinics, outpatient ambulatory rehabilitation clinics, emergency departments, physician clinics, and assisting in surgery, among others. Job duties and responsibilities vary in this setting.

In recent decades, athletic trainers have been expanding into additional settings such as the Performing arts, Occupational medicine, and Public security.

Scope
Athletic trainers work under the direction of a physician to deliver sports medicine services. They are commonly primary care providers for the populations that they serve, managing their day-to-day health care and care coordination needs. As sports medicine professionals, athletic trainers are broadly concerned with the prevention and treatment of sports injures.

You were looking at Emergency_medicine and thought that it looked really good. You wanted to use that as a guide. It has a really good section of all the specialties it intersects with (Sprained ankles = ortho, concussion = neuro, sudden death = emergency med). As you're writing this you're thinking that you might start talking about sports med and then say, 'but they're also primary care' and then talk about the consequences of that instead of running them together.

Focus on preventing injury and promoting health through education, biomechanical analysis, strengthening, along with other evidence-based methods. ü Develop and implement comprehensive, injury prevention-based strength and conditioning programs. ü Respond to, assess and treat injuries, illnesses, and ongoing medical conditions. ü Acutely respond to and manage emergent injuries and conditions that occur during athletic practices and events. ü Rehabilitate injuries from the moment they happen until the patient returns to play or activity. ü Have expertise in the recognition and management of concussions.

The athletic trainers receive formal training in:
 * Risk management and injury prevention
 * Acute care
 * Concussion assessment and management
 * Gross pathology of injuries and illnesses
 * Assessment/Diagnosis
 * Basic human life science
 * Therapeutic use of physical agents
 * Rehabilitation and conditioning techniques
 * Psychosocial intervention and referral
 * Professional responsibility and ethical practice
 * Medical research and evidence informed practice
 * Pharmacology (therapeutic and performance enhancing)
 * Nutrition
 * Health care administration and management

(including typical diseases/medical conditions; include any important sub-specialties)

History
(development of field, including notable founders)

Investigations
(investigations, diagnostics, and related techniques used in specialty)

Training
(may be subdivided by country if necessary)

Overview
The percent of ATs in a medical team varies greatly in different settings: secondary schools (24%), colleges and universities (16%), clinics/hospitals (including physician practices) (18%), professional sports and performing arts (3%), industrial/corporate settings (3%), academia (3%), youth sports (1%), military/government/law enforcement (1%), and administration (3%). In all U.S. states except California, practicing athletic trainers are required to have state credentials. According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, there are more than 58,000 athletic trainers around the world. The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics projects that employment of the athletic trainers is estimated to grow by 19% between 2018 and 2028.

Scope
The Board of Certification serves as the national certifying body for athletic trainers, and its Standards of Professional Practice outline the roles and responsibilities of certified athletic trainers. The standards include expectations such as "The Athletic Trainer renders service or treatment under the direction of a physician". State law determines the setting, limitations, and restrictions on what athletic trainers can and cannot provide.

Referring
In certain instances, patients and clients may require treatment or consultation that falls beyond the scope of an athletic trainer's expertise. In such cases, the athletic trainer's responsibility is to make appropriate referrals to other healthcare professionals. Various supporting health services may be utilized, including school health services, nurses, physicians, dentists, podiatrists, physician's assistants, physical therapists, strength and conditioning specialists, biomechanists, exercise physiologists, nutritionists, psychologists, massage therapists, occupational therapists, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, chiropractors, orthopedists, prosthesis experts, equipment personnel, referees, or social workers.

NATA code of ethics
"The National Athletic Trainers' Association Code of Ethics states the principles of ethical behavior that should be followed in the practice of athletic training. It is intended to establish and maintain high standards and professionalism for the athletic training profession."

Undergraduate General Studies
The content of the courses will vary based upon the institute and professor, but there are some general subject matters that any AT should know including human and exercise physiology, kinesiology, anatomy, and nutrition. These subjects are commonly studied to increase knowledge regarding athletic training.

Physiology "is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system". More in-depth studies of physiology is between human and exercise physiology. Human Physiology is more anatomical structures, exercise physiology is physical exercise conditions and treatments. Kinesiology "identifies stress in our muscles and uses relaxation techniques to release tension and improve our mood, health, and overall well-being" Used in athletic training, focuses more on muscle anatomy and sport focused rehabilitation. Human anatomy studies the structures on the body including muscular systems, organs, respiratory, bone anatomy, veins, and arteries. This also includes physical examinations of the extremities. Which will include injury recognition, treatment, taping, bracing, and care. After the examination an AT might have to perform acute care of injury. This is implemented when dealing with trauma and illnesses sustained during sport participation. This includes field evaluation of medical emergencies, such as cessation of breathing or circulation, shock, concussion, and spinal injury. After performing care, somewhere down the road athletic trainers may have to provide rehabilitation strategies to go through with the athlete. ATs need to know about basic nutritional principles and concepts that lead to an athlete's personal health, relationship with food and overall optimal health. How a student eats is influential on their recovery time and overall athletic performance.

Accreditation
The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE), under the Council for Higher Education, is the accrediting body for athletic training education programs in the United States. Only individuals who successfully complete an accredited program are eligible to sit for the certification exam to become an athletic trainer. CAATE lists all the accredited programs in the United States on their website. It provides the college's name, contact information, and a link to the institution's website.

Entry-level Master's Programs
An entry-level master's program is a two-year program that covers the material required for an athletic training degree. Standard prerequisite classes are human anatomy, human physiology, kinesiology, biomechanics, exercise physiology, nutrition, personal health, and a certain number of observation hours completed under a certified athletic trainer (ATC).

Graduate school in athletic training and related fields
There are 15 schools in the US with an accredited athletic training master's program for those with a bachelor's in athletic training who want to pursue further education. These programs are typically two years in length. While enrolled in one of these programs, the athletic trainer may gain clinical experience and receive a stipend through a graduate assistant internship.

Graduate Assistant Internships
Typical responsibilities for graduate assistant interns include administering daily medical care to selected intercollegiate athletic teams, evaluating and documenting athletic injuries, completing administrative duties, serving as an approved clinical instructor or clinical instructor in a CAATE-accredited ATEP, and assisting the head athletic trainer. Other internships may include working at a high school or clinic, teaching, or researching. Graduate assistant positions are generally around 10-month appointments that may be renewable after the first year and sometimes include additional summer work.

Accredited Programs
CAATE evaluates athletic training programs to ensure that they follow the standards for entry-level athletic training programs. Evaluations may take place every three to seven years. Completing the CAATE accredited education program is a part of the criteria that determines a candidate's eligibility for the Board of Certification (BOC) examination.

Organizations
The National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) is the professional organization for athletic trainers in the United States. NATA is divided into 10 geographical districts which each appoint their own agendas and board members. Each district consists of about 3-6 states/territories which have a director that serves on the NATA Board of Directors. Every state has its own state athletic training association that acts similar to the district associations with their own board members. The state associations answer to the district associations and NATA.

Before the formation of NATA, athletic trainers occupied a somewhat insecure place in the athletic program. Since then, considerable professional advancement has been made in the field.

As well as the NATA, there's also the World Federation of Athletic Training & Therapy (WFATT) which began in 1998 but was founded in 2000. The WFATT's mission statement includes "Athletic Training & Therapy will be recognized as an essential part of multidisciplinary healthcare teams worldwide". Across 4 continents, 12 countries and in 42 member associations, there's well over 50,000 athletic trainers registered. To start the WFATT, the US and Canada (Canadian Athletic Therapists Association) went and promoted athletic training in various countries through workshops.