An editorial written in the recent edition of Journal of Athletic Training (Jan-Feb 2013 Volume 48, Number 1) is a calling to all athletic trainers. Written by a well respected and known name in the profession, William E. Prentice suggests “focusing the direction of our profession.”

“Athletic trainers are extremely well prepared to deal with physically active patients who have sustained injuries related to sport activity. In fact, we have better academic preparation and clinical training than ANY other group of health care professionals to work with this population.”

He uses similar verbiage (as the quote above) to state why we should not be competing with other health care professionals. “convincing other health care professionals that AT’s are specifically trained … will go a long way in helping those professionals to accept AT’s as useful, productive, and nonthreatening members of the health care team.”

Prentice suggests the following:

• Refocus on what we do well – provide health care to competitive and recreationally active patients
• Embrace the uniqueness of our profession
• Refer to ourselves as athletic trainers, the people we treat as patients, and the facility we work in as the athletic training clinic
• Redirect NATAPAC (political action committee) efforts towards mandating employment of AT’s by secondary schools participating in interscholastic athletics.

What we as a profession need to remember is that “no other professional is prepared to direct prevention efforts, provide on-site emergency and nonemergency care, direct appropriate follow-up, and ensure sufficient rehabilitation and recovery for return to safe participation.”

cotinue reading at NATAjournals.org