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The athletic trainer is an allied health care professional (recognized by the American Medical Association) who specializes in preventative care, an important quality in today's changing health care environment.

Athletic trainers are highly skilled professionals trained in preventing, recognizing, managing and rehabilitation sports injuries. In this role, the athletic trainer can help athletes avoid unnecessary medical treatment and disruption of normal daily activities. More specifically, the athletic trainer specializes in five domains:

• prevention of athletic injuries;
• recognition, evaluation and immediate care of athletic injuries;
• health care administration;
• education and
• counseling.

As part of a complete health care team, the athletic trainer works under the direction of a licensed physician and in cooperation with other health care workers, athletic administrators, coaches and parents. The athletic trainer gets to know each athlete individually and can therefore treat each athlete's injury appropriately. They require extensive knowledge and strong decision making skills obtained through experience and education. Athletic trainers can be employed in secondary schools, colleges and universities, and professional sports medicine clinics like Fox Valley Orthopaedic Institute.

Anyone interested in athletic training as a career must be eligible to sit for the certification exam from the National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Certification (NATABOC). There are currently two pathways to certification: graduation from an accredited curriculum program, or meet the internship requirements of the NATABOC.

In the curriculum option, the student must complete the accredited program in no less than two years; complete at least 800 hours of athletic training experience supervised by a certified athletic trainer from the program; and have received their baccalaureate degree from the college or university where they completed the program.

The internship program requires more hands-on experience and may not take longer than five years to complete the program. All students must take courses in:

athletic injury/illness prevention and evaluation;

• athletic injury/illness prevention and evaluation;
• first aid and emergency care;
• therapeutic modalities and exercise;
• athletic training program administration;
• human anatomy and physiology;
• exercise physiology;
• kinesiology/biomechanics;
• nutrition;
• psychology;
• personal and community health; and
• instructional methods.

Many states now regulate athletic trainers through registration or licensure. These laws are to protect the public from fraudulent activity. Illinois has a licensure law and all athletic trainers must have a license in order to practice athletic training.