I whole heartedly support Paul's comments. Having been an AT program director
working in the accreditation process, I frequently wondered how we have defined
"entry level". New graduates can "master" only so much in their preparation
time with other skills being advanced skills that they could pursue in a
specialty area later.

More importantly, the master health care provider knows his or her area of
expertise and when an athlete's condition requires referral for services beyond
his or her expertise. As we as a profession continue to enhance our educational
standards, let's more clearly define "entry-level athletic training practice and
recognize how we work with other health care practitioners. We can learn from
others as they can learn from us. If we want to make a difference in health
care and contribute to the well-being of all our clients, let's work
collaboratively with others. Rather than requiring so many competencies of all
graduates, let's reconsider a strong core of competencies specific to who we
want to be and group others into areas of related specialties that students may
pursue with us and other health care providers.


Mary

Mary Romanello
mary_romanello@...