We Are Concerned About Athletic Training's Future

After a lengthy and frustrating battle to update our practice act in our state just last session, I have no doubt that what is being brought forward as "entry level" education far oversteps our very recent practice act. It also will add fuel to the fire of other therapy service areas that already are working against athletic training in this state. Much of these new content areas are specialty areas that should be pursued AFTER you get your entry level certification and understand how to be an athletic trainer. This is extremely frustrating. Ask the people doing the job! If you currently don't do the job, it is probably in your best interest to see what "entry level" athletic trainers are doing!

The points raised by this petition and its intent has certainly brought out the voices of people concerned about our profession. I would like to make sure the passionate feedback presented by this group is also directed appropriately to a place where there is the greatest chance for impact. As part of their process, CAATE posts the draft of the proposed standards for public comment on their website. These standards are not finalized. CAATE is relying on these comments to help determine the final standards. CAATE needs feedback not just from members, but educators, employers, and other allied health organizations (including the NATA and its various committees) to determine the final standards. The comments and signatures on this petition are exactly what CAATE needs to hear (both for, and against). However, the only way CAATE is guaranteed to hear these comments is through collection on their website. I would hope that all 518 signees and 99 people who have participated in this petition (as of the time of the writing of this) have logged on to CAATE to voice their opinions. Kudos to those who have generated this discussion. But, for the best chance of impact, everyone who has signed or commented on this petition should also express these opinions directly to the decision makers at CAATE who will formulate the final standards. For those who have done so, thank you for helping to guide the direction of the profession! For those who have not, please do so (http://caate.net/shape-the-future-of-athletic-training-education) and click on the "Curricular Content Standards" link. You can voice your opinion on every one of the standards (whether you agree or disagree). If you like a standard, say so.....if you don't, say so. For every unvoiced opinion, the likelihood of change diminishes for any of the standards everyone is concerned with. The professional passion of ATs is one of our greatest strengths. I encourage you to use this passion and provide feedback

My child is a student athlete who has benefited greatly from the AT at her school. Please take these concerns seriously and listen to the ATs, educators and those who benefit from their knowledge before making these decisions.

I am in support of growth of the profession, but the expansion of skills and breadth and depth of content is not for an entry level degree. Further, the "inner circle" of educators who seek to move AT away from athletics is not something I can support (see the Chris Ingersol keynote address at the Oct 2015 CAATE meeting in Tampa). Although I support non-traditional AT job settings I don't think we can cover all skills for all settings at an advanced level with an entry level degree. There is a lot of talk about ATs not being respected by others, but I have never felt less respect for ATs and AT Educators than I have from CAATE and those in the inner circle as the rest of us try to raise concerns, share knowledge and information, and ask questions The message we have been given is "shut up and get on board" and that is not the profession I joined over twenty years ago and that is not how ATs treat each other.

Keep up the good work! Good to know people are catching these things.

These initiatives are a complete overreach for the profession of athletic training at an entry level. These proposed changes have not been communicated to the profession at large and greatly affect those working in the field. The decision-making body of these changes need to be above board in the communication to the AT body at large.

The over expansion of the duties and responsibilities to the Athletic Training staff in an already crowded medical environment given the structure of these programs, their budgets and more importantly the need that they be available and accessible makes these proposals too onerous and will be detrimental to the profession.

Trust and verify: without appropriate evidence, logic and vision, these proposals/decisions seem like a high risk gamble. "They placed their bets with such self-righteous bravado, but I'm (we are) the one(s) who lost." Author: Chuck Palahniuk from the Book 'Damned'

I agree with all these concepts presentedpresented in this petition.

I have recently decided to retire from the Athletic Training profession, partly because of this decision to redirect our profession without effectively engaging the members.

Please keep the athletic training profession as it is. The MS degree should be used in order to develop better entry level ATs and not change our scope of practice.

Well put and exactly right. The policy makers are reaching far beyond our profession and have become completely disconnected with the larger body of Athletic Trainers.

Undergrad programs should exist and graduate AT assistants. Then get masters to get certified. This is a win win for all. And salaries increase overall. Not a bad idea!

Bravo. Congratulations to those who initiated and composed this petition. It is well stated and most likely represents not hundreds but thousands of our colleagues

When the PTs went to DPT programs their salaries did not increase accordingly, and they now have a lot more debt. The same thing will happen to ATCs except we are not as well respected as other professions and already make significantly less. This is not a winning situation.

I support this petition. Advancing the profession should be translated as focusing on strengthening and advancing current AT knowledge and training, not adding knowledge from other professions. Let's strengthen what is already there, not dilute it.

Want people to take us serious? Change the name of the profession first. Athletic Trainer does not represent what we do ! I am sick of this issue.

Proposed changes seem as if many Athletic Trainers want to pursue a different profession all together. I respect ambition, but changing a professional standard of practice this drastically when there are professions that specialize in these areas. If there is desire to expand why not search for expansion in areas that are not well covered by other allied health and medical fields. We are already overextended professionals with our current standards of practice.

For the last several years I have been overtly outspoken about my concerns for the direction that has been chosen for our profession. Health care professionals, even medical doctors, cannot be all things to all patients. We must focus our entry level education on what it is that athletic trainers do. I worry that our profession is loosing it's course and it's identity. The skill set that the CAATE believes that ATs need to learn at the entry level will violate practice acts in every state. I fear that the domino effect of incorporating these skills into the AT curriculums will create a nightmare for our own state licensing boards and a firestorm of resistance from other health care professionals. I implore th CAATE to reconsider the new standards they are recommending and the leadership of the NATA to preserve the integrity of the profession that we are all so passionate about.

I support this petition and feel that it is time to focus our efforts toward the evaluation and cultivation of our recognized body of knowledge. It's critically important to advance our profession. I think the master's degree transition is a good direction, but we should be focusing on AT knowledge refinement and expansion within our own social contract with the public. Adding border knowledge from other professions serves to weaken our claim on the exclusivity of our professional knowledge.