#51 - What Does an Athletic Trainer Do?

Continuing our athletic trainer in concussion care series we’ll be answering “What does an athletic trainer do”?

Athletic trainers offer care to all types of patients and can work in a wide range of settings. This can include providing primary care, outpatient rehab support, and education for injury prevention. Specifically, at the school and youth sports levels, athletic trainers serve as a liaison between outside medical professionals, school administration, and parents.

They are instrumental in maintaining the safety of student-athletes and ensuring an organization’s concussion protocol is airtight. Athletic trainers do this by being the main point of contact for concussion care and in some cases, helping identify the policies, tools, assessments, and stakeholders to include. Having these procedures in place helps protect schools from potential lawsuits by documenting their concussion management plan and showing they are up to date on the best practices for treatment.

For more information on how to protect your organization from lawsuits, read the ImPACT Applications Liability in Concussion Care 101 Guide.