The area of Sports Medicine is growing rapidly, especially the area of Athletic Training. According to the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA), the field of athletic training encompasses the prevention, examination, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of emergent, acute or chronic injuries and medical conditions. Athletic training is recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA), Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an allied health care profession. Athletic trainers (ATs) are highly qualified, multi-skilled health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Athletic trainers work under the direction of a physician as prescribed by state licensure statutes.
The Associate of Science degree in Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation is designed to help students successfully transfer into a CAATE (Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education) accredited program. Students will also be prepared to transfer into a program in the area of exercise science and will also acquire skills to sit for and pass a nationally accredited personal trainer examination.
Students in the program will learn the basic skills of: recognizing injury, emergency and on the field care, prevention of injury, treatment, and rehabilitation of athletic injuries. Students in the program will learn hands on skills in both lab and off campus in professional settings.
Students will be able to:
- demonstrate knowledge of prevention, recognition, management, and rehabilitation of athletic injuries and begin to bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and clinical practice.
- demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving skills and gain knowledge on how to apply them to athletic training situations.
- learn and communicate athletic training professional development standards as established by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).
- demonstrate effective communication necessary to interact with other Allied Health Professionals, such as: health care providers; administrators, athletes; coaches; families; and the community.
- demonstrate knowledge, both in practical demonstrations, and written and oral presentations, of athletic training practice standards and employment settings, as well as the behavioral attitudes needed to excel in athletic training environment.
- show skills needed to effectively conduct an on the field and off the field assessment of an athlete, including emergency procedures, use of the HOPS method of assessment, proper recording of data in SOAP notes, and adherence to FERPA guidelines.
Raritan Valley Community College Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) degree programs are designed to comply with the New Jersey Community Colleges General Education Foundation which supports transfer of courses to NJ Public four-year colleges and universities. Students who intend to transfer to a NJ college or university can further improve the transfer of courses by using the Recommended Transfer Program (RTP) feature in NJTransfer.org.