NATA Now

Most organizations and companies have risk managers and/or compliance officers who are responsible for identifying and reducing risks that are specific to the workplace. You can promote the athletic training profession by organizing a meeting with the risk manager or compliance officer for your workplace to discuss the value you provide in preventing injury and mitigating risk. If available, provide statistics regarding your specific contributions to patient care (number of treatments, types of treatments, appropriate referrals, accuracy of diagnoses, etc.). 

In March 2018, the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) released the Standards for Accreditation of Professional Athletic Training Programs at the Masters Level (2020 Standards).

In their rollout, CAATE states:

While cheerleading once was considered a student activity related to spirit raising, nowadays it falls under many institution’s athletic programs thanks to its popularity and athleticism. As with any other athlete, cheerleaders face injury concerns, especially musculoskeletal injuries and those related to overuse since the cheer season tends to be year-round. The June NATA News features an article detailing what is being done to keep cheerleaders safe by CheerSafe, a coalition of national, regional and state organizations.

The Spine Injury in Sport Group (SISG) was developed out of the prior Inter-Association Task Force on Pre-Hospital Care of the Spine-Injured Athlete. NATA has partnered with the NFL and NCAA to participate in and assist with sponsoring the project. The SISG will use the international concussion group and their consensus statements as a model of development. The SISG is consisting of 22 members, covering a wide variety of professional backgrounds and work settings (11 physicians, nine athletic trainers and two emergency medical technicians).

With May being Mental Health Month, now is a great time to revisit NATA’s many mental health-related resources. The Mental Health section of the website features a bevy of related resources, from position and consensus statements to articles and guidelines. In addition, NATA has created several infographic handouts that examine various aspects of mental health, including:

By Jeffrey B. Driban, PhD, ATC, CSCS

Expanding the reach of stories that highlight the expertise of athletic trainers can have a huge impact on promoting the athletic training profession.

New Orleans’ own Drew Brees, an elite quarterback entering his 18th year in the NFL, will headline the NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo in NOLA June 28 as the NATA Keynote Speaker sponsored by Cramer. Read the June NATA News for our cover story about Brees.

The May NATA News features an infographic handout on stress in honor of May being Mental Health Month. While some stress can be good, too much stress can have short- and long-term effects on physical and mental health. The infographic handout describes some of the symptoms of stress as well as ways to reduce stress through self-care. Check out the infographic handout and share it with members of your community.

The seven members who will be inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame during the 69th NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo this June in New Orleans were featured in the May NATA News. In addition to sharing their fondest memories and hopes for the future of the profession, they discussed volunteerism and its importance. Below you can read more about what led the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 to volunteer and give back to the profession: