Athletic trainers’ unique clinical and teamwork skills contribute on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic: A discussion paper

ABSTRACT

Crises such as pandemics create stresses on the health-care system that often produce innovation and changes in roles and delivery methods. In the current pandemic, and with the interruption of organized sport activities, athletic trainers have moved beyond traditional hierarchies and scopes of practice to roles that fully leverage their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Through background literature, discussion, and examples, this paper shows how the Athletic Training profession has made an impact in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors also present key questions as the health-care system moves forward through these challenges. In the future, there could be a new paradigm in the health-care system that values athletic trainers on interprofessional teams which focus on health and wellness to improve outcomes for individuals and society.

KEYWORDS:

• Athletic Trainer
• collaboration
• scope of Practice
• pandemic

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Notes on contributors

Anthony P. Breitbach

Dr. Anthony Breitbach is a tenured Professor and the Director of the Athletic Training Program at Saint Louis University.  He is Chair of the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions Partnerships, Alliances and Advocacy committee and Interprofessional Task Force as well as representing them on Interprofessional Education Collaborative council. He serves as Secretary-Historian and is on the Advisory Board of the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative; is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Interprofessional Care; is a Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission and serves as Public Member on the CAE Commission of the American Society of Association Executives.

Jason A. Muchow

Jason Muchow serves as the Director of Sports Medicine and Orthopedics with Mercy Clinic in St. Louis, MO, which is part of Mercy Health System.  He has been a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) for 17 years, served on the NATA Committee for Practice Advancement for three years, and lead the Healthcare Administrators’ workgroup for three years.  Jason also serves on the board for the Athletic Trainers in the Physician Practice Society.

David F. Gallegos

David Gallegos is the Deputy CEO of Southwest Sport & Spine Center, Inc and Athletic Trainer for Mesilla Valley Christian Schools.  David represents District 7 (AZ, NM, CO, UT WY) on the National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Directors, member of the American Physical Therapy Association Private Practice Administrator's Network, McKenzie Institute USA and the Southern NM Representative on the New Mexico Activities Association Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.