Member Resource Library

NATA’s Council on Practice Advancement (COPA) Public Safety panel presents a critical conversation featuring experts from the Public Safety Athletic Trainers Society and COPA addressing the rise in preventable deaths and life-threatening incidents among law enforcement academy recruits—particularly those linked to heat illness and sickle cell trait complications. Moderator: Maura Shea, DAT, LAT, ATC, Executive Director, Public Safety Athletic Trainers Society Panelists: Anna August, MS, LAT, ATC with Fairfax County Police Department, Traci Tauferner, LAT, ATC, CSCS with Advanced Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine and Miranda Zamora-Williams, DAT, LAT, ATC with OrthoLive

This white paper describes how ATs can intentionally shape their career paths by identifying opportunities for advancement both within and beyond traditional athletic training workplace settings. This includes preparing for roles in leadership, education, research, administration and emerging health care sectors where the skills of ATs are highly valuable

Tip sheet published in the July/August 2025 NATA News, designed to help students start thew new school year off on the right foot.

Throughout 2025, NATA News is partnering with the NATA Student Leadership Committee to create tip sheets for NATA’s student members. This tip sheet focuses on student mental health, especially during finals.

The athletic training (AT) profession is dominated by early career and career-advancing professionals, with nearly 52% of Certified Athletic Trainers possessing zero to nine years of certification. The exact number of athletic trainers (ATs) leaving the profession is unknown. However, any attrition of ATs in the career-advancing demographic is concerning as it minimizes the number of mature, seasoned professionals available to model professional longevity. With over half of ATs with 12 years or less of certification indicating their optimism for staying in the AT profession has decreased since March 2020, it is now more important than ever to identify factors contributing to consideration of attrition and develop strategies to improve professional commitment, persistence, and retention. Research and resources on goal setting and goal attainment in AT are scarce, suggesting that ATs may not be fully equipped with the necessary professional identity development and self-advocacy skills to articulate their goals and value to employers. In turn, this inability to articulate their professional goals and value to the organization may lead to a lack of job satisfaction and career advancement. The purpose of this session is to equip ATs with the skills to set actionable career advancement goals and articulate those goals to current or future employers. By defining and understanding one's own professional goals and assets, ATs of all experience levels can develop a stronger sense of identity within the AT profession. This professional identity can boost the AT's self-confidence and empower them to take on advanced roles within their organizations. Also, when ATs understand and align their professional values with their work, they are better equipped to contribute to the goals of their organizations which could lead to enhanced job performance, satisfaction and retention; ultimately benefiting the employee, the employer and the individuals they serve.

This poster outlines the role and benefits of ATs in the public safety workplace.

This poster outlines the beneficial role ATs play in the private practice workplace.

Use our NATA Membership Justification Letter Template (doc) to show your employer the value of NATA membership for your professional growth and their organizational success.

Throughout 2025, NATA News is partnering with the NATA Student Leadership Committee to create tip sheets for NATA’s student members.This tip sheet provides suggestions for making the most of our your convention experience.

In this compelling episode of “The NATA-Cast”, host Kasee Hildenbrand PhD, LAT, ATC, is joined by Dani Moffit PhD, LAT, ATC and Jamie Mansell, PhD, LAT, ATC, co-authors of the white paper “Athletic Training: Risk Management Strategies for Avoiding and Responding to Sexual Misconduct.” Together, they delve into the motivations behind their research and discuss actionable recommendations for addressing vulnerabilities within athletic training. Tune in as they explore the challenges of implementing these strategies, the importance of stakeholder involvement and how the athletic training community can shift the culture to prevent future incidents. This conversation also highlights how this critical work fits into the broader dialogue on sexual misconduct in sports and the next steps for advancing this vital conversation. This episode is a must-listen for anyone committed to fostering safer environments in athletic training and beyond.

Throughout 2025, NATA News is partnering with the NATA Student Leadership Committee to create tip sheets for NATA’s student members. This tip sheet is designed to assist students as they prepare for the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer exam.

Throughout 2025, NATA News is partnering with the NATA Student Leadership Committee to create tip sheets for NATA’s student members. This resources looks at clinical rotations and what students need to know.

Objectives obtained in this document: 1. Educate the athletic training community- Provide actionable strategies to prevent sexual misconduct and address vulnerabilities in athletic training, based on insights from the white paper. 2. Promote cultural change- Engage members in conversations around accountability, respect and safety to foster a shift in culture within athletic training and sports. 3. Empower stakeholders- Motivate ATs, administrators and other stakeholders to implement the white paper's recommendations and create safer environments in their workspaces and communities.

The skills and knowledge acquired in professional education translate to treating clients and patients effectively in a variety of employment settings. As employment in the emerging settings has increased, we have started to identify additional skills and knowledge that are beyond our entry-level education and specific to that setting. Identification of this specific content will help athletic trainers identify related continuing education and improve their ability to provide excellent care.

Journal of Athletic Training Article: The labor market suffered a mass exodus of employees, including healthcare workers, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research highlights the vulnerability of young professional athletic trainers (YPATs) to attrition. Investigating pandemic-related employment changes and their impact is essential for developing strategies to improve the retention of YPATs.