NATA Beat: Fall 2025 Advocacy Updates
Every day, NATA and the NATA Government Affairs Department are working on behalf of the athletic training profession. With staff members experienced in all aspects of the legislative process, the NATA Government Affairs Department is the sole department focused on advocacy for the profession. NATA’s goal is to ensure that all ATs can work to the fullest extent of their education and skill set.
Fulfilling Employer Expectations
By Jamie Woodall, MPH, LAT, ATC
In the February NATA News, I shared how athletic trainers can own their impact and highlight the value of their role and the profession to their current and potential employers.
From the SLC: Q&A with LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee
The NATA LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee is working to break down barriers in the athletic training profession. To learn more about the committee, the NATA Student Leadership Committee had a Q&A session with Committee Chair Patricia Aronson, PhD, ATC. Aronson has been a NATA member for 40 years.
2019 NATM Theme is ATs Are Health Care
The 2019 National Athletic Training Month theme – ATs Are Health Care – provides an opportunity to shed light on the many contributions athletic trainers have made, and continue to make, in areas such as research, innovation and patient care, contributions that cross a variety of settings – from sports to the military – throughout the U.S. and abroad.
From the SLC: Performing Arts Career Exploration
In continuation of the NATA’s Student Leadership Committee’s blog series, we start the year off looking at the performing arts setting. Of the many settings athletic trainers are found in, performing arts may be one of the most unique. With various modifications, considerations and groups of patients, this setting allows clinicians to be as creative as their patients and provide excellent health care in an exciting setting.
Own Your Impact: OATA
By Kim Diggs
Every year, high school students return to school; the football season revs up, and media outlets far and wide ask the same question: Is football safe for students? In 2016, Oklahoma Athletic Trainers’ Association (OATA) decided to get ahead of the inevitable by debuting the Safety in Football Campaign – a public-relations initiative to raise awareness about the athletic training profession.
PFP Infographic Available
Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is one of the most common knee problems affecting active individuals, especially young athletes. Despite its commonality, PFP is often misunderstood and can be challenging to manage due to its complex nature.
Streamlining Pre-Event Meetings
The January NATA News features an article about the Prehospital Care Committee of the UPMC Sports Medicine's Athletic Training and Development Program in Pittsburg, which has spent the past 12 years developing and implementing an equipment athlete class focused on collaborating with area EMS groups in the care of a potentially spine-injured athlete.
Capitol Hill Day 2019 Registration Opens
By Kim Diggs
On the heels of a bipartisan triumph for sports medicine, NATA members will get the opportunity to participate in an annual political tradition. ATs from all over the country will travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual Capitol Hill Day April 3, 2019. Registration is free and open now through Feb. 28, 2019.
From the SLC: For Students; By Students December
Here’s the latest student news from the athletic training profession:
NATA, APTA Commit to Greater Collaboration
To promote individual health and well-being and advance population health, NATA and American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) have announced a commitment to greater collaboration in a joint statement released Dec. 19. The statement outlines how both organizations can work together to advance patient care and encourages members of the two organizations as well as stakeholders to do the same.