SPORTS MEDICINE SPOTLIGHT CARING FOR ATHLETES


a national resource for sport safety, health and medical expertise.”1 The availability of an AT is an es- sential component of risk reduction for an athletic program, but more importantly, it demonstrates that the program places a high priority on the health and well being of its ath- letes. The cost-benefit ratio reported in the literature has demonstrated that the return on investment more than justifies the financial commit- ment. As state regulation of ath- letic training practice has increased across the country, there has been a concomitant increase in the number of ATs practicing in the secondary school setting; however, the avail- ability of an AT is mandated in only a few states.


Athletic programs must strive to involve both an athletic trainer and a team physician to provide the highest degree of safety to your athletes.


Developing Structure For The Athletic Trainer And Team Physician


Relationship Working together ensures that athletes are getting the best care


Gary B. Wilkerson, EdD, ATC, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga


T 16


he fact that we have become an increasing litigious so- ciety is difficult to argue against or ignore. In the arena of athletic medicine, the number of lawsuits has grown exponentially. Athletic programs and sport orga- nizations have responded to this trend through implementation of risk management strategies, which include such measures as rule changes, education, adoption of


March/April 2013 By Marisa A. Colston, PhD, ATC and


new policies and procedures and hiring an athletic trainer (AT). The current public discussion about sport-related concussions has initiated changes in their medi- cal management from the second- ary school level to the professional sport level. There is no question that the NCAA is concerned about the health and well being of col- legiate student-athletes, which is evidenced by the hiring of its first chief medical officer in January 2013. According to the NCAA, this physician will “lead a new Center of Excellence, which will serve as


There are more than 40,000 U.S. public and private high schools and only about 42 percent of these have “access” to an AT.2


Administrators


and coaches in athletic programs that do not have an AT can only hope that a catastrophic injury event does not occur.


Simply hiring an AT (or con- tracting with an organization for acquisition of AT services) does not automatically reduce the school’s legal liability. Both state medical practice regulations and Board of Certification (BOC) Standards of Professional Practice mandate that the AT provide all services under the direction of a physician. Un- fortunately, the nature of the AT- physician working relationship is very poorly defined in many in- stances, which has led to a wide- spread misunderstanding about the manner in which the medical chain of command should be structured. Failure to appreciate the impor- tance of a clearly delineated AT- physician working relationship is very risky business, as can be seen in the following example. During the pre-participation physical examination, a college freshman football player reports that he experienced multiple con- cussions when playing football in


coachad.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54