NATA Now

Our thoughts are with the NATA members and their families who were affected by Hurricane Michael last month.

By Kim Diggs

After a two-year stint, the Back to Sports Grant Program has come to a close. Held in partnership with the National Football League and American Heart Association (AHA), the mini-grant program awarded 188 NATA members with a grant to be used to educate parents and guardians of secondary school student athletes.

The stipends and presentation materials that comprised the Back to Sports program were only granted to NATA members. The total amount of all of the grants awarded was $47,000.

Athletic trainers and health care providers develop special relationships with their patients. However, concern comes when an athletic trainer crosses that professional boundary with their charges. Many individuals assume this behavior is specific to recent graduates when, in actuality, this issue is one that can happen to any athletic trainer at any age or in any setting. There can be serious consequences for this act, especially if the patient is under the age of consent. Penalties include, but are not limited to, an athletic trainer being arrested or losing his/her job or license.

The Athletic Training Education Journal (available at www.natajournals.org) invites manuscripts for a special thematic issue focusing on Health Care Leadership: Educating the Future Health Care Executive. 

Welcome to Hot Take, where we examine new and challenging topics in athletic training. This month, we are looking at CAATE’s new Curricular Content Standards from 2018, which open up potential questions about the scope of practice for athletic trainers. Below, CAATE President LesLee Taylor, PhD, LAT, ATC, shares what these are and how they may affect you.

Having a proper job description document for every position on the athletic training team is critical. From job proposals and new hire recruitment to job training and performance evaluations, everything stems from the job description document.

Anyone can incur a hamstring injury, whether it’s a pull or tear. While they may seem minor, more than 6 percent of hamstring injuries result in a time loss of more than three weeks, with some even requiring surgery. To help educate your athletes, parents, coaches and other members of your community, the November NATA News features an infographic handout on hamstring injuries, signs of injury and treatment options.

By Kim Diggs

It’s registration time! Join educators from around the country for the biennial Athletic Training Educators’ Conference (ATEC) Feb. 15-17 2019, in Grapevine, Texas. This is an opportunity for novice and seasoned educators alike to further explore the full scope of clinical education through lectures, workshops and showcases. There are even opportunities to earn CEUs.

Please “save the date” for the 2019 NATA Foundation Call for Research Abstracts for presentation at the 2020 NATA Clinical Symposia and AT Expo in June in Atlanta. The abstract submission system will open to receive submissions on Oct. 15 and will accept submissions until Nov. 1. A lot has changed over the past few years – here are a few updates and reminders for 2019.

Welcome to the first-ever “For Students; By Students” blog post, a way for you to keep up with the world of athletic training. Here’s what’s going on: