BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott Athletics & Recreation Department, its athletic training staff/students, and the athletic training club are celebrating National Athletic Training Month (NATM) by participating in community service, professional development, and fundraising events throughout the month of March.
FUNDRAISING EVENTS
On Friday, March 24, the athletic training club will host a volleyball tournament at MacDonald Gymnasium in an effort to bring the Endicott community together for a night of fun and raise awareness against drinking and driving, with all proceeds going to Relay for Life. The tournament format will be a double-elimination format, and run from 7-10 PM.
Meanwhile, on the following Tuesday, March 28, the athletic training club will hold a fundraiser at Chipotle (55 Dodge Street, Beverly, Mass. 01915) as an additional fundraiser for Relay for Life. The event will be held from 5-9 PM.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
On Saturday, March 4th, from approximately 9 AM to 2 PM, five athletic training students consisting of senior Haliegh White, junior Sam Smith, sophomore Sierra Villemaire, and freshmen Mackenzie Kennedy and Conner Holland volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Danvers, Mass. The group assisted mainly in installing insulation and other building materials.
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS SYMPOSIUM
After partaking in their community service project on Sunday, the athletic training club participated in the annual National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) Young Professionals Symposium on Sunday, March 5. The YP Symposium is designed to offer support, programs, activities and educational opportunities for athletic trainers in their first 12 years as a professional after certification and receiving their license. Twelve students from the athletic training program attended the symposium including two of the program's freshmen, seven sophomores and seven juniors.
Key Takeaways From National Athletic Training Month
Athletic trainers are experts
Working to prevent and treat musculoskeletal injuries and sports-related illnesses, athletic trainers offer a continuum of care unparalleled in health care. ATs are part of a team of health care professionals – they practice under the direction of and in collaboration with physicians. ATs work with those individuals who are physically active or involved in sports participation through all stages of life to prevent, treat and rehabilitate injuries and medical conditions. Athletic trainers should not be confused with personal trainers or "trainers" who focus solely on fitness and conditioning. Always refer to an "athletic trainer" or "AT" to ensure clarify of profession and quality of care.
Athletic trainers save lives
Sports injuries can be serious. Brain and spinal cord injuries and conditions such as heat illness can be life threatening if not recognized and properly handled. ATs are there to treat acute injuries on the spot. Athletes have chronic illnesses, too. People with diabetes and asthma can and do safely work and exercise, and the athletic trainer can help manage these critical health issues as they relate to physical exertion.
The athletic trainer is the health care system for athletes and others
Athletic trainers are on site. They work with patients to avoid injuries; they're there when injuries happen and they provide immediate care; and they rehabilitate patients after injuries or surgery. It's a continuum of care. They know their patients well because they are at the school, in the theater or on the factory floor every day.
Athletic trainers take responsibility and lower risk
School administrators, athletics directors and coaches have their own jobs, which may pose a conflict of interest with athlete safety; they are not experts in managing injuries or sports-related illnesses, nor should they be responsible to do so. Handling injuries at school or at work, rather than sending the patient to the emergency department, saves money and time loss – and gets them back to their activity faster. Just as professional athletes do, recreational athletes should have access to athletic trainers.
Athletic trainers must be accredited
Athletic trainers must complete education requirements through a Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) accredited program, pass a national certification exam and must be licensed in the state of Massachusetts as an Allied Health Professional to be able to practice.
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