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Quality assessment of athletic trainers

Department of Exercise Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania

Charles E. Yesalis, PhD

Department of Health Planning and Administration, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania

Kristi J. Ferguson, PhD

Office of Consultation and Reseach in Medical Education, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

John P. Albright, MD

Orthopedics, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

This paper reports the first published assessment of the quality of services provided by athletic trainers. Medical coverage for the 1985 Junior Olympic Games was provided by certified athletic trainers (ATC), phy sicians, and other health care personnel. This study assessed the services of the 30 attending ATCs who managed 121 significant injuries. Standard injury infor mation was collected by the ATCs and separately col lected by their physicians. Nine months after the Games, phone interviews were conducted with the injured participants and assessment questionnaires were given to the attending physicians. Results re vealed that young, injured, Junior Olympic participants generally did not inform their parents about their injuries or medical contact while at the Games. Athletes and physicians overwhelmingly agreed that they were pos itively impressed with the capabilities of the ATCs with whom they had contact. About 70% recovered from the symptoms and limitations of injury, as determined by the athlete, within the month following the Games. About 17% sustained some type of injury recurrence to the same body part, and at 9 months about 97% of the athletes had fully recovered from their injuries.

These data not only indicate that athletic trainers can accurately identify minor athletic injury but signify the importance of long-term followup in our athletic popu lations. Multisport events, such as the Junior Olympic Games, impose considerable problems to a communi cation effort. The athletic trainer, as an ever-present figure in collegiate and professional circles, can be the central focus of an adequate communication effort re garding the patient care of other athletic populations.