NATA Now

Last week NATA staff conducted an interview with recently retired Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. In the interview, Bryant talked about the role athletic trainers played throughout his career. The full interview will be posted to the At Your Own Risk website next spring.

At Your Own Risk is a public awareness campaign aimed specifically at educating parents, student athletes, school administrators, legislators and employers on the athletic trainer's role as an expert in prevention and safety.

Johnson & Johnson has made the decision to change its sponsorship level with NATA. While they will continue to support NATA and the profession, it will be in a reduced capacity. 

In 2016, 589 NATA members celebrated 25 years with the association while 27 celebrated 50 years of membership. In addition, 162 NATA members celebrated a personal milestone: retirement. Congratulations to all of the NATA members who are celebrating a special anniversary with the association as well as those who experienced significant milestones of their own!

50 Years with NATA

A. Andersen

David Ambrose

Dean Kleinschmidt

Dean Weber

Doris Wickel

Gene Gieselmann

George Borden

Glenn Renollet

The Health Care System’s Commitment to Patient-Centered Care
By Kara Gainer

We are in the midst of the 2016 NATA Salary Survey and are excited to share a midway update! We are off to a good start at 9 percent overall participation, but still have a way to go to achieve our 35 percent goal. Approximately 4,440 have completed the survey meaning we need about 12,700 more members to complete the survey to reach our goal.

Although shin splints and stress fractures both affect the lower legs, the two overuse injuries are different. To help you educate members of your community, the NATA has created a shin splint and stress fracture infographic handout featured in the November NATA News. The infographic handout can be downloaded and distributed to coaches, parents and students to help educate them on these two injuries and how they can minimize risk.

The November NATA News features a profile on Elizabeth Wolfe, CAGS, ATC, which examines her role as an injury prevention coordinator at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. The medical center had never considered an athletic trainer for the position, so Wolfe had to advocate for herself and prove that her knowledge and skillset could be applied to those outside of the athletic sector.

After more than 7 trillion gallons of rainwater covered Louisiana and Mississippi Aug. 8-15, the Baton Rouge-Lafayette area experienced historic flooding resulting in extensive damage to homes, schools and entire communities. In the November NATA News, “ATs Taking Care of ATs” (p. 25) details the work conducted by members of the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association and others in the AT community to support those affected by the flood.

We are excited to announce the official launch of the AT Grant Program, the latest collaboration between NATA and the NFL Foundation! This new pilot program was created to provide funding to public high schools with football programs that have limited or no access to an athletic trainer. Gatorade, the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society and the Korey String Institute have also partnered with the NFL Foundation on this important initiative.

Conducted every 2 years, the NATA Salary Survey is a nation wide effort to equip members with the data they need to negotiate their pay with a current or prospective employer. Upon survey publication in the spring, NATA members will be able to manipulate salary data through various categories including level of education obtained and years of working experience in order to best fit their needs.