1. Employment Settings for Certified Athletic Trainer
2003 World Exercise Professionals Symposium
KACEP 4th Annual Meeting
Daejeon, KOREA
KyungMo Han, PhD., ATC
California State University
Dominguez Hills

2. State Regulations for Athletic Trainer
Licensure
Certification
Registration
Exemption

3. State Regulations for Athletic Trainer
Athletic trainers in many individual states organized efforts to secure recognition by seeking some type of regulation of the athletic trainer by state licensing agencies
To date 40 of the 50 states have enacted some type of regulatory statute governing the practice of athletic training
Rules and regulations governing the practice of athletic training vary tremendously from state to state

4. Licensure
Limits practice of athletic training to those who have met minimal requirements established by a state licensing board
Limits the number of individuals who can perform functions related to athletic training as dictated by the practice act
Most restrictive of all forms of regulation

5. Certification
Does not restrict using the title of athletic trainer to those certified by the state
Can restrict performance of athletic training functions to only those individuals who are certified

6. Registration
Before an individual can practice athletic training he or she must register in that state
Individual has paid a fee for being placed on an existing list of practitioners but says nothing about competency

7. Exemption
State recognizes that an athletic trainer performs similar functions to other licensed professions (e.g. physical therapy), yet still allows them to practice athletic training despite the fact that they do not comply with the practice acts of other regulated professions

8. List of Regulated States
Alabama (L) Kansas (R) North Carolina (L)
Arkansas (L) Kentucky (C) North Dakota (L)
Arizona (E) Louisiana (C) Ohio (L)
Colorado (E) Massachusetts (L) Oklahoma (L)
Connecticut (E) Maine (L) Oregon (R)
Delaware (L) Minnesota (R) Pennsylvania (C)
Florida (L) Mississippi (L) Rhode Island (L)
Georgia (L) Missouri (R) South Carolina (C)
Hawaii (E) Nebraska (L) South Dakota (L)
Idaho (R) New Hampshire (C) Tennessee (C)
Illinois (L) New Jersey (R) Texas (L)
Indiana (L) New Mexico (L) Vermont (C)
Iowa (L) New York (C) Virginia (C)
Wisconsin (C)

9. EMPLOYMENT SETTINGS Secondary schools Professional teams
School districts
Colleges or universities
Professional teams
Sports-Medicine clinics
Industrial settings

10. Employment Setting Secondary Schools
1995 NATA adopted a position statement supporting hiring athletic trainers in secondary schools
1998 AMA adopted policy calling for ATCs to be employed in all high school athletic programs
~ 30,000 public high schools in U.S.
Between 20-25% of high schools have ATCs

11. Employment Setting School Districts College and Universities
ATC floats between several schools in same district
College and Universities
Number of ATCs varies considerably
Professional Teams
~ 5% of employed ATCs

12. Employment Setting Sports Medicine Clinics
The largest % of employed ATC’s found in this setting
Work in the clinic in AM and in high school in PM
Industrial and Corporate Settings
ATC’s oversee fitness, injury rehabilitation, and work-hardening programs
Understanding of workplace ergonomics is essential