Becoming an athletic trainer can help former athletes remain involved in sports in a hands-on manner, including helping amateur and professional athletes avoid injury and enhancing their overall competitive success. Athletic training education typically includes earning a bachelor’s degree and receiving certifications from one or more professional athletic trainer certification boards. Understanding these certification options can help you pick one that suits the specific athletic trainer career you want to pursue.
In this article, we define athletic trainer certificates, describe their benefits, show you how to earn one and discuss seven certification options that may work well for your needs.
What is an athletic trainer certificate?
Athletic training certificates are training options that help individuals gain new skills and abilities as athletic trainers. For example, athletic and personal training certifications include comprehensive training courses and in-depth examinations that gauge your knowledge. These detailed certification exams test your abilities in real-world athletic situations, such as how to help an athlete with a sprained ankle or how to diagnose a concussion. Athletic trainer certifications may also cover other subjects that showcase your abilities and skills and help employers identify you when seeking new athletic trainers. These tests commonly test your ability to:
-
Follow diagnostic steps: Athletic trainers may respond to athlete injuries and diagnose what happened. These processes may include calming the athlete, talking with their coaches and ensuring a complete injury examination.
-
Provide treatment: After an injury, athletic trainers may treat minor or major injuries and help an athlete get medical help. For example, an athletic trainer may stabilize an athlete’s sprained ankle before transporting them to a hospital.
-
Track athlete progress: Athletic trainers also help athletes reach their full competitive potential by guiding their performance training and physical therapy. For instance, athletic trainers could monitor an athlete’s exercise routine, suggest safer techniques and direct their progress.
-
Prepare athletes for events: Before sporting events, athletic trainers check each athlete to ensure they can perform. Their tests may include tracking past injuries, testing an athlete’s reflexes and gauging their nutritional health.
Athletic trainer certifications may help these professionals better understand their potential careers. For example, a junior nurse may transition to an athletic trainer position by earning an athletic trainer certification. While earning their certification, they may learn about proper athletic training procedures, practice them in classroom settings and test their overall training knowledge. Certificates can also provide you with other benefits during a job search and may simplify your job search by making your resume more impressive to potential employers.
Benefits of an athletic trainer certification
You can earn an athletic trainer certificate to:
Expand your knowledge
Athletic trainer certification programs expand your knowledge and introduce new career concepts that may improve your job chances. For example, you may learn specialized athletic training procedures that help you diagnose common injuries more quickly. This knowledge may help you showcase your knowledge during athletic trainer job interviews. For example, in an interview, you may highlight modern resuscitation techniques, professional pain diagnostic methods, proper injury management skills and advanced patient management skills.
Increase your earnings
Athletic trainer certifications may help improve your salary by making you a more desirable candidate. This benefit may arise because certifications help you differentiate yourself from other candidates. They may make you appear more serious about your career and may convince employers to hire you. For example, an employer may offer you more money and benefits than other applicants because your certification could make you appear more credible than applicants without certifications. You may also find multiple employers offer you better salaries to interest you in their position.
How to earn an athletic trainer certification
Follow these steps when earning an athletic trainer certification:
1. Discover a relevant certification program
Search for athletic trainer certification programs online or talk with your college counselor to find a certification that suits your specific career path. Programs may focus on career paths like youth sports, professional competition, hospital care and physical therapy. Research what each certification option provides you and sign up for the program. Read through a program’s expected schedule to plan your studies around your day-to-day life, such as your job or school.
2. Develop athletic trainer skills
During certification, you may work in multiple classroom types, including in-person and online settings. These courses teach you about athletic trainer skills to help you expand your overall knowledge and understanding. Read all your paperwork, study test material, perform practice tests to gauge your knowledge and study areas that may be more difficult for you. For example, you may focus on physical training after scoring low in that category on a practice test. Read through textbooks or online resources related to this subject.
3. Sign up for a certification test
While finishing the certification program, you can plan a certification test date. Pick and sign up for a test date from the list of available dates. Some certification programs may test during specific days based on demand. For example, some certification programs may set up monthly, quarterly or even yearly exams. Others may schedule exams based on demand, such as when enough people join the program. Research the available options to find a day that works for you. Consider a date that gives you a few study months before the test to potentially improve your test score.
4. Study for the test
Continue your certification studies after signing up for the test. Study for a few hours every day and focus on areas that need improvement. Find a study partner receiving the same certification or someone who already passed the test. Set up study sessions and test each other on different subjects. Take more practice exams and monitor your progress with each test. Follow these and other studying tips to improve your knowledge. Sleep well the night before the test, eat a healthy meal and perform relaxation techniques just before the test to keep your mind calm, such as controlled breathing.
5. Take the test
Wake up early on your test day and look over your study notes for a few hours. Focus on the most challenging topics for you, including areas where you need improvement. Get to the exam site at least 15–20 minutes early and meet the testing team. Sharpen your pencils and go over your notes before beginning the test. Answer any straightforward questions first before progressing to more difficult ones. Pay close attention to what each question asks, looking for terms like “compare” and “contrast” that may direct you towards specific answers. Error check your test before submission.
7 athletic trainer certifications
Here are seven athletic trainer certification options you may earn:
1. The ATC Credential
The National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) offers the ATC Credential for athletic trainers. It focuses on the Board of Certification (BOC) requirements, including certification exams, BOC Standards of Professional Practice and Disciplinary Guidelines and Procedures. The ATC also follows continuing competence requirements, including regular certification updates. Athletic trainers learn decision-making skills, illness and injury prevention, therapeutic intervention and immediate emergency care procedures.
2. Athletic Trainer Certification
The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) collaborates with physicians to create the BOC-approved Athletic Trainer program. Subjects studied include injury prevention, first aid, human anatomy, physiology, therapeutic modalities, nutrition and clinical education. Candidates also learn about physical therapy, exercise science, strength training and conditioning programs.
3. CE Certification
The Board of Certifications For the Athletic Trainer (BOCATC) created the CE Certification working with state regulatory agencies when certifying athletic trainers. They follow all BOC guidelines and can certify trainers for many settings. For example, they can certify athletic trainers who work for schools, amateur sports teams, professional sporting leagues, medical facilities, industrial settings, police departments and firehouses. This certification teaches athletic trainers about these unique settings, including preparation techniques that are suited for each.
4. ACE Certification
The Cooper Institute Personal Trainer Certification, or CI-PTr, exam provides an ACE Certification that focuses on providing professional knowledge, teaching proper trainer skills, understanding fitness routines, creating health programs for clients and protecting the public from various health problems. Trainers pursuing this certification progress through multiple stages, including focusing on cardiovascular and muscular health, before certifying each member. This comprehensive course includes a detailed examination that tests each applicant’s skills in real-world scenarios, including assessing athlete injuries immediately after they occur.
5. CRC Certification
The Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, or CRCC, is an independent and non-profit organization with over 30,000 counselors in the United States and Canada. They provide Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, or CRC, and Canadian Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, or CCRC, certifications for physical therapists. These certifications focus on each country’s specific needs, such as the CRC following U.S. standards, by asking for over two years of education before taking the test. Earning this certification can help you transition to many careers, including school and professional athletic training positions.
6. ABP Certification
The American Board of Pediatrics, or ABP, provides a specialized sports medicine program, the ABP Certification, for anyone interested in elementary or high school athletic training. People earning this degree perform one training year in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education program. This program addresses things like young adult bodies, how their bodies react to injuries, ways trainers can minimize injury risks, methods for working with an athlete’s parents and providing in-depth training help across multiple sports.
7. PA Certification
The National Commission on Certifications of Physical Assistants, or NCCPA, provides the PA Certification for physical assistants that may transition to athletic trainer positions. The certification focuses heavily on teaching diagnostic techniques, emergency treatments and physical therapy options that athletic trainers may use in their career. For example, injured students may receive physical therapy from an NCCPA-certified athletic trainer because of its unique certification scope. They may also work in many environments, including high schools, sports teams and hospitals.
Leave a Reply