NATA Now

August 21, 2025 by Lydia Hicks

Students Cheer and Connect at Convention

The 76th NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo June 24-27 in Orlando brought students from across the country together into an integrated convention experience in the Orange County Convention Center. From cheering on their peers during the 16th NATA Quiz Bowl and participating in the student learning lab to mingling with experienced professionals, student attendees made connections and bolstered their AT education.

October 16, 2014 by NATA Staff

Win a Trip to NATA 2015 by Entering the #ATsAre Contest

NATA initially launched its #ATsAre awareness campaign back in June, when convention attendees were asked to complete the phrase “Athletic trainers are ____” on a whiteboard. Recently, the #ATsAre campaign officially became a contest, and settled into its digital home at the NATA 2015 convention website. ATs and AT students are encouraged to submit their word (or words) as often as they’d like through Nov. 14.
 

October 14, 2014 by NATA Staff

The Need for Mentoring

By Jeremy Hawkins, PhD, ATC

In 1871, Philip P. Bliss, an American composer and conductor, published the following:
 
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy,
From His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.
 
Refrain:
Let the lower lights be burning!
Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.
 
Dark the night of sin has settled,
Loud the angry billows roar;

October 9, 2014 by NATA Staff

49ers' Marcus Lattimore's Concussion Awareness Initiative

San Francisco 49ers rookie Marcus Lattimore has been making headlines lately, and still has yet to play one minute in his NFL career. As NFL commentators and critics debate whether he’ll be removed from the team’s non-football injury list to the active roster for the Rams game on Oct. 13, Lattimore’s nonprofit foundation is generating media buzz over a new concussion awareness initative benefitting South Carolina's young football athletes.
 

October 9, 2014 by NATA Staff

Manual Therapy Certificate Work Group Opportunities

The Professional Development Committee (PDC) is working on the development of a Manual Therapy Certificate of Completion. The certificate will be launched during 2015. Those wishing to earn the certificate will complete several online modules and will complete the certificate by attending in-person sessions. Within the certificate there will be three tracks - upper extremity, lower extremity and spine. Several ATs who are leaders in the manual therapy field are already engaged with Jay Scifers, DScPT, LAT, ATC, and Chad Krawiec, MS, ATC, of the PDC in the development of the certificate.

October 1, 2014 by NATA Staff

Scott Sailor Wins NATA Presidential Election

The results of our presidential election are finalized, and Scott Sailor, EdD, ATC, has been voted by the membership to be our next president. He will take office in June 2015. Our sincere thanks to Russ Richardson, EdD, ATC, for his willingness to serve the association and to all the members who engaged in the voting process. 
 

September 26, 2014 by NATA Staff

And The (Individual) NPI Contest Winners Are...

NATA’s NPI contest ‘Are You Being Counted’ is finished, and we are excited to report an additional 1,727 athletic trainers now have NPIs. Congratulations to District Four for winning the “Largest percentage of members with NPIs” category and District Three for taking the “Highest percentage increase in members with NPIs” title. We detailed the full district breakdown in a previous blog post. 
 

September 19, 2014 by NATA Staff

September Is Children’s Cardiomyopathy Awareness Month

NATA Partners with the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation to Shine Spotlight on Devastating Children’s Heart Disease Through Awareness Month

NATA is partnering with the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) for Children’s Cardiomyopathy Awareness Month this September. The awareness month will educate the public about pediatric cardiomyopathy, a chronic and potentially life-threatening heart disease that affects how the heart muscle pumps blood through the body.