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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

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.

Integrating diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility into coursework can be challenging. Learn some creative ways to incorporate DEIA into the classroom and take a deep dive into one specific technique.