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Nicola Turelli

College Composition II

Proposal Essay

28 April 2019

Proposal of Athletic Trainers

Athletic training is a qualified healthcare profession and requires a good amount of training

with the body and how to help injured athletes come over their injuries. The whole job of them is

to help that athlete as soon as the injury happens. But because of their lack of extra schooling they

aren't allowed to prescribe medicine or stitch a laceration. This is where doctors take over to help

heal this patient, but this takes up more time of the athlete especially at young ages when the

athletic trainer has other patients to worry about. So, what is the way around this time stalling and

potentially injury increasing method of waiting to help an injured patient?

Athletic training has transformed over many years the NATA (National Athletic Training

Association) was formed in 1950. Around the 1970 they formed the first set curriculum and clock

hours for athletic training. The curriculum consisted of anatomy, psychology, physiology, first aid

and safety, nutrition, and a basic and advanced athletic training course. This was the very start of

athletic training with schooling and it has progressed from there. But what hasn’t changed to much

overall is the field of athletic training. Athletic trainers still can’t prescribe medication but can give

dosages of over the counter medication by the label to their patients. Adding to the curriculum the

certification classes of a pharmacists would advance athletic training further than it already has.

No athletic trainer was legally allowed to give medications out not following the directions, but

what if we had pharmacist classes added to the curriculum so that wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
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The idea of having athletic trainers trained be certified to prescribe medication so patients

don’t have to wait days for their pharmacists. These cases show what athletic trainers see in their

line of work but can't do because they were not certified to give prescription of medication.

Malfeasance is when an athletic trainer performs an action they are not legally allowed to perform.

Athletic trainers should still have limits when it comes to what they can and can’t prescribe. At the

same time there are still medications that are highly addictive such as percasets or any painkillers.

So, limiting to what type of medication Athletic trainers can prescribe can help athletes use over

the counter medication that an athletic trainer would prescribe instead of the painkillers that will

be normally prescribed by a pharmacist or doctor. Teaching Athletic trainers how to prescribe

medication would save patients time from a doctor visit and a heavy dosage of a medication the

patient doesn’t necessarily need. Yet, it is still malfeasance for an athletic trainer. “Only a licensed

team physician or licensed pharmacist may dispense prescription medications. Dispensing of

prescription medications cannot be delegated to athletic trainers.” (University of Georgia Athletic

Association 4). But physicians can give sample medications to athletic trainers, but it must be

recorded so it could be shown to the FDA. “Sample medications must also be tracked. The name

of the drug representative or physician bringing samples into the athletic medical office is

recorded. According to FDA guidelines, all prescription-drug samples must be stored separately

from other medications in a locked cabinet in the athletic medical office.” (University of Georgia

Athletic Association 4). If athletic trainers can get samples why don’t we teach them the practice

of a pharmacist so they can prescribe their patients, then and there for their injury instead of going

to a doctor and then the pharmacist. This wastes time and gives the athlete more of a potential risk

of increasing their injury.

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Now even though it takes serious schooling to perform certain actions on patient athletic

trainers should know just as much as a normal doctor or even a paramedic. This would be fair to

both trainers and their patients especially when it comes to their care. Athletic trainers are almost

like school nurses, they both can't prescribe anything, and one handles a stomach ache where the

other one handles serious injuries to the body. But they have about the same amount of schooling

and knowledge. If there was to be a change to athletic training and their limits of care, there needs

to be an assumption of they could handle that. Where this is lost is basic injury's that can be taken

care of due to modern day technology and communication of athletic trainers and the patients legal

guardians. Connor Martin a 15-year-old athlete from Hermiston High School suffered a concussion

and was not treated and was not informed about his injury. “Athletic officials at Hermiston High

School didn't treat Connor Martin or tell his parents about a concussion he suffered in a helmet-

to-helmet collision during a September 2016 junior varsity football game, the suit says. The boy

was 15 then.” (Aimee Green 2). This is a very serious case of negligence for an athletic trainer and

could cost not only their job but jail time. This is what makes the question on if athletic trainers

should have the ability to care more for patients then they can now. If they can't handle giving a

concussion test and informing parents how can we trust an athletic trainer to prescribe the right

medication to your 17 year old son.

Not every athletic trainer makes this kind of mistake in their career, most probably don’t.

That is why athletic trainers could do more with their schooling and career. In Grossmont High

School due to the absence of athletic trainer Keoki Kamau, Adrian Dunn an athletic training

college student stepped in and handled this case very well. After examining a patient's ankle Colter

Rios Dunn cleared him for play. “Dunn found no bruising, deformity or other abnormality and,

after taping Colter's ankle, had him jog, zigzag, sprint and backpedal. Colter told the trainer he felt
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fine and was then cleared to return to the game. Upon returning, however, Colter fractured two of

his cervical vertebrae and injured his spinal cord when he was tackled.” (John T. Wolohan 2). This

was handled completely fine as Dunn examined the injured patient, determined nothing was wrong

with his ankle and cleared him for play which was the right thing. Also, Dunn is still a student in

college that was shadowing the athletic trainer. This shows potential to teaching current athletic

training students in college about pharmacy and dispensing of medication. This will start a new

generation of athletic trainers especially when the career is becoming very popular.

The proposal at hand is do we trust the future generation of athletic trainers to handle the

job of being an athletic trainer and being able to prescribe medications to their patients. I believe

so especially when looking at the Dunn case as he showed not even starting his career yet doing

the exact thing a professional would. If all athletic trainers could make the job simple, I think that

teaching dispensary of medication to the new generation of athletic trainers will be a huge step

forward for the career its self and the hard-working trainers in it.

Sources

Green, A. (2018, September 13). Oregon high school football player sues for $38 million after

suffering concussion. Retrieved from https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-

news/2018/09/38_million_lawsuit_football_pl.html

U. (2005, January). Share. Retrieved from

https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/pdf/10.1123/att.10.1.10 a
Wolohan, J. T. (n.d.). Negligence, Athletic Trainers at Heart of Football Lawsuit. Retrieved from

https://www.athleticbusiness.com/civil-actions/negligence-athletic-trainers-at-heart-of-high-

school-football-lawsuit.html
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