Tiffany Rodgers, Lewisville, Helps SC Athletic Trainers Earn Award

2012 Apr 2

In recognition of National Athletic Training Month, all accredited Kansas Athletic Training Education Programs (ATEP) participated in an student letter writing competition during March. For the fourth time in as many years, the Southwestern College ATEP won the award for top participation. Each of the four years 100% of SC's ATEP students participated in the competition.

Tiffany Rodgers, Lewisville, participated in the letter-writing campaign.

The letters are sent to legislators in the student's home state to help educate them on the profession of athletic training. This year students sent e-mails to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback.

"There are common misconceptions about what we do as athletic trainers," says Lisa Braun, director of athletic training education at Southwestern. "We are not personal trainers. We are allied health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, immediate care, evaluation, and rehabilitation of injuries. We work in the high school, collegiate, and professional settings as well as industrial, clinical, and military settings."

Athletic trainers are licensed in most states. Licensure requires graduation from a school accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) and successfully passing the National Board of Certification exam.

This year's theme for National Athletic Training Month was "Athletic Trainers Save Lives."

"Athletic trainers are instrumental in decreasing catastrophic injuries and deaths due to heat illness, head injuries, and cardiac conditions to name a few," Braun says.