Posts Tagged: athletic trainer
February 16, 2017
Lexi Chaput
Assistant Director – Club Sports
University of Michigan
Within every Campus Recreation department, different types of risks are managed differently based on the resources dedicated to the program, but with more and more discussion taking place about head injuries in sports participation, resource limitations are no longer a valid reason for a department saying they ‘can’t’ when it comes to response and management. Regardless of your size, structure, or resources, education is always a viable option, and can be a valid response when Risk Management calls and wants to know what you are doing to keep participants safe.
A Future of Uncertainty for Club Sports
For those whose Club Sports are insured by the University, it’s important to know that the future of that coverage has the potential to change dramatically, and could result in higher costs or added requirements. In a recent conversation with our Risk Management Office, they are anticipating changes to our liability coverage. While our insurance providers have so far not mentioned “no coverage” for head injuries sustained during activity, limitations on coverage could be implemented, especially surrounding timelines – specifically around when the injury was reported, and if the injury was the first of its kind sustained. Read more
February 16, 2017
Robin Bowman, M.Ed., ATC
Assistant Director for Injury Prevention & Care
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Concussions have been a hot topic in sports and recreation for the past few years. It seems like every week there is new research coming out that helps us better understand this injury. While it’s great that the medical community is making strides in understanding the mechanisms by which symptoms of concussions happen and recover, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest advances.
Between the difficulty in keeping up with the best practices in recognition, treatment, and return to activity following concussions and the increase in class action lawsuits against sporting organizations who are perceived as not doing enough to protect athletes from the long-lasting effects of mild traumatic brain injury, recreation professionals can feel overwhelmed.
Wouldn’t it be nice if your department had someone on staff that had extensive training in the prevention, recognition, and treatment of concussions and other injuries? An athletic trainer may be just what your department needs. Athletic trainers are skilled in the prevention, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Read more
December 08, 2016
Angela Sehgal, EdD, LAT, ATC
Program Director, Athletic Training
Program Director, Pre-Health Professions Learning Community
Graduate Faculty Member, Sports Sciences
Florida State University
The Beginning
Several years ago at Florida State University (FSU), the question was asked…why don’t the campus recreation athletes receive the same treatment and care as the student-athletes do in the Athletic Department? The answer to that question served as a catalyst for dialogue between the Athletic Training and Sports Sciences faculty from the FSU College of Human Sciences, Director of University Health Services, Medical Director of Health and Wellness Center, and the Director of Campus Recreation and affiliated staff. Specific strategies started to emerge about the possibilities of comprehensive, on-campus, sports medicine care for all FSU students who were physically active. Read more
January 17, 2012
The Ball is In Your Court
Katharine M. Nohr, JD
Nohr Sports Risk Management, LLC
On August 12, 2011, a Federal Court in Alabama issued a decision in a case in which a former football player at Auburn University sued a former athletic trainer at Auburn for failing to supervise his rehabilitation properly. See Ramsey v. Gamber, Slip Copy, 2011 WL 3568911 (2011). Plaintiff Ramsey had been injured while doing weight training at the University. His athletic trainer thereafter collaborated with doctors to design a rehabilitation plan. Ramsey alleged that Gamber “improperly ordered him to perform weighted exercise before it was safe for him to do so, in violation of doctors’ instructions.” In the Court’s decision, it sympathized with the Plaintiff’s “distress over the injury that cut short his athletic career” and noted that it was “deeply regrettable that Auburn University terminated his football scholarship because of an injury he had little ability to prevent.” The Court went on to conclude that Ramsey’s case was properly dismissed as he was not able to prove that Defendant’s misconduct caused his injury.
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July 18, 2011
We Can No Longer Afford Not to Afford Them!
Tom Roberts
Director Recreation and Wellness
University of Richmond
In the fall of 2007 a university rugby club member suffered a concussion during an away game. Ignoring the headaches, the rugby player continued to participate in club practices, only seeking medical attention once they became unbearable. The medical diagnoses was a fractured skull, a severe injury that could have lead to brain damage or death, had it not been treated. This university dodged a bullet, a near tragedy, and most likely very costly litigation that could have been avoided with the presence of an athletic trainer. This near fatal incident involving a rugby player was a wake-up call for the administration at Oberlin College, where the incident occurred. Several months after the incident, the Dean of Students at Oberlin College announced, “the protection of student athlete’s safety is a priority.” The university was taking important first steps to ensure the continued safety of its club sport athletes by hiring a sports medicine professional, an athletic trainer.
The administration of sport clubs requires a proactive approach to risk management in order to provide a safe environment for the participants and reduce the likelihood of injury and litigation. Although there may be no absolute protection from lawsuits, a well-trained staff, safe and well-maintained facilities and equipment, and carefully planned and executed risk management plans will reduce the likelihood of injuries and avoid legal entanglements. This can best be accomplished by having certified athletic trainers responsible for managing risk and providing medical attention at all sport club practices and home competitions. It’s paramount that recreational sports administrators take whatever steps are necessary to justify and provide vital medical coverage and services for our sport club athletes. The risk is too great for our sport club athletes and the legal responsibility and protection of our universities. Universities can no longer afford not to afford sport club athletic trainers, especially for contact and high risk sports.
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July 18, 2011
We Can No Longer Afford Not to Afford Them!
Tom Roberts
Director Recreation and Wellness
University of Richmond
“I have coached college rugby for eight years now, and I have a long list of things that we would love to have to make our club better, and more competitive, but to be honest, athletic trainers at home and away matches is the single most important thing the University could provide our club. After all, the welfare of the students should come first before everything else”. (Carl Schmitt, President of the Virginia Rugby Union and University of Richmond Rugby Coach)
High schools have made the safety of athletes a priority. Passing legislation and mandating better concussion training and medical services, public high schools now require full-time certified athletic trainers at high risk sporting events. The NCAA has provided a set of guidelines that have become recognized as the standard of care. These guidelines ensure that athletic trainers are available at almost all NCAA athletic team practices and competitions. So why are there not athletic trainers at university sport club practices and competitions? Ask most sport club administrators, coaches, and athletes and the answer you’re likely to get is “we cannot afford to pay for athletic trainers”. Well it’s time we recognize we can no longer afford not to afford them! The risk is too great for our sport club athletes and the legal responsibility and protection of our universities, especially for contact and high risk sports.
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