About the Certified Athletic Trainer

What is an Athletic Trainer?
Where does a Certified Athletic Trainer work?
What kind of education does a Certified Athletic Trainer have?
What does an Athletic Trainer do?

What is an Athletic Trainer?

An Athletic Trainer is a degreed and nationally certified health care practitioner of the Sports Medicine community who, when present, is the first to respond to and rehabilitate a sports-related injury under the direction and delegation of a board certified medical physician.

Where does a Certified Athletic Trainer work?

The Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) has traditionally tended to the active athlete of professional competitive sport. However, athletic training settings have expanded to include weekend public sporting events; middle school, high school and collegiate athletics; strength and conditioning specialization settings; physicians' extenders in medical offices; clinicians of in-patient and out-patient rehabilitation offices; work-place ergometric consultants; on-site industrial clinicians of large corporations; and military installations.

What kind of education does a Certified Athletic Trainer have?

Education in Athletic Training consists of no less than a specialized Baccalaureate Degree in Athletic Training.  However, most Certified Athletic Trainers have continued their education through the Master's level and many have obtained a terminal degree (Ph.D.) in the human sciences.

Immediately following the Baccalaureate Degree program, students of Athletic Training sit for a national certification exam regulated by the Board of Certification for Athletic Trainers to earn the rights and privileges of the fully Certified Athletic Trainer.

Because applied rehabilitative techniques and knowledge of human physiology expands at a high rate, the Certified Athletic Trainer also sits for a minimum of 27 contact hours of Continued Education on an annual basis after certification. Attendance of Continued Education allows the Certified Athletic Trainer to stay abreast of the latest in protection equipment; injury mechanisms; surgical and rehabilitative techniques; rehabilitative tools; and legislative changes.

What does an Athletic Trainer do?

The Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC) is first charged with the duties and responsibilities concerning the care and well being of the athlete.This primarily entails the prevention, recognition and rehabilitation of an athletic related injury.

Some of the daily activities of the ATC, however, also include the recruitment of team members such as an orthopaedic surgeon, family practitioner, chiropractic care, as well as dental and eye specialists. Athletic Trainers also have administrative duties of operating their Athletic Training Facility with inventory, restocking, purchasing equipment and management of personnel such as Assistant ATC's, Graduate Assistants, students and volunteers.

For more answers to your questions not address on this page, please visit our regulating organizations and agencies listed on the athletic training links page.