I will not claim to be an unbiased source.  I will not claim to know everything there is to know about insurance.  But one thing I know is very clear:  There is a significant lack of athletic trainers available to student-athletes in secondary schools.

As a certified athletic trainer, I think it’s very important to have the proper health care provider available all the time, and the training and education suggests that be a certified athletic trainer.  No other profession spends their entire education learning sports medicine like we do.  We learn to work with next to nothing in the way of supplies and facilities.  We learn to work within time constraints of the athlete.  They are much different from average patients.

The issue always comes down to money.  Administrators say they do not have the money to pay for an athletic trainer, but they have money to provide a nurse during the school day.  It is time that an athletic trainer be mandated for sports at the secondary school level. In these tough economic times, schools are struggling to provide basic services.  Teachers across the state of Illinois and across the country are facing layoffs and pay freezes or even pay cuts.  Programs are being dropped including sports, music, drama, and even some classes are getting cut.  Coaching positions are being cut as well and schools are relying more on volunteers.  But I am here to suggest that schools be required to hire a certified athletic trainer.  Where are they going to get that money? Continue reading →