Athletic Training
What is an athletic trainer?
Athletic training is practiced by athletic trainers, health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize activity and participation of patients and clients. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of emergency, acute, and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations, and disabilities. Students who want to become certified athletic trainers must earn a degree from an accredited athletic training curriculum. Accredited programs include formal instruction in areas such as injury/illness prevention, first aid and emergency care, assessment of injury/illness, human anatomy and physiology, therapeutic modalities, and nutrition. Classroom learning is enhanced through clinical education experiences. More than 70 percent of certified athletic trainers hold at least a master’s degree.
What is an orthopedic technologist?
The Orthopaedic Technologist (OT) is a specifically trained allied health care individual who assists the orthopaedic surgeon in the practice of medicine. An OT is an extension of the orthopaedic surgeon and assists in the care of sick and disabled persons. OTs must have the ability to relate well to other people, be considerate of their conditions and able to communicate with patients in understanding their anxieties and fears. An OT is familiar with routine office and departmental procedures and is able to perform certain basic nursing functions.
An expert in plaster and synthetic cast application, an OT is responsible for instructing patients about the dangers of this form of treatment. An OT has the skill to remove casts with care and fragility, is equipped with the general principles of traction techniques, prepares or sets up specific types of traction requested by the orthopaedic surgeon and is able to assess patients in traction, detect deficiencies in the apparatus and make adjustments as necessary.
The OT may perform as a first assistant to the orthopaedic surgeon in the operating suite. To do this, OTs must understand medical and surgical asepsis. This would include preparing for surgical procedures, assembling and preparing the fracture table to the specifications of the orthopaedic surgeon.
All of these important duties fall under the realm of an Orthopaedic Technologist.
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