Education
Students become eligible for Board of Certification (BOC) certification through an athletic training (bachelor or entry-level masters) degree program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).
Entry-level athletic training education uses a competency-based approach in both the classroom and clinical settings. Using a medical-based education model, instructors teach athletic training students to provide comprehensive preventive services and care in domains of clinical practice: prevention; clinical evaluation and diagnosis; immediate care; treatment; rehabilitation and reconditioning; organization and administration; and professional responsibility.
The educational requirements for CAATE-accredited Athletic Training Education programs include not only cognitive (knowledge) and psychomotor (skill) content, but also a broad scope of foundational behaviors of professional practice, as well as a comprehensive clinical learning requirement that is embodied in the clinical proficiencies (professional, practice-oriented outcomes) as identified in the Athletic Training Educational Competencies and Clinical Proficiencies.
Students must receive formal instruction in the following specific subject matter areas:
- Basic and Applied Sciences
- Human anatomy
- Human physiology
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Physics
- Statistics and research design
- Rehabilitation
- Exercise Physiology
- Kinesiology/Biomechanics
- Professional Content
- Risk Management and Injury Prevention
- Pathology of Injuries and Illnesses
- Orthopedic Clinical Examination and Diagnosis
- Medical Conditions and Disabilities
- Acute Care of Injuries and Illnesses
- Therapeutic Modalities
- Conditioning, Rehabilitative Exercise and Pharmacology
- Psychosocial Intervention and Referral
- Nutritional Aspects of Injuries and Illnesses
- Health Care Administration
