The purpose of the study was to examine the burnout potential of certified athletic trainers (ATCs) working in the regions of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. To determine burnout potential, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey was used. Permission to modify the inventory was obtained from CPP, Inc. Participants for the research study were identified by searching the NATA membership directory, state athletic training websites and state licensure websites. Sixty-seven ATCs were emailed invitations to participate. Fifty surveys were completed. Of these 50, five were eliminated from statistical analysis. Therefore, 45 surveys were satisfactorily completed producing a usable return rate of 67%. Results of the study indicated that Certified Athletic Trainers in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee reported burnout potential that is similar to other allied health professions. Both the Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization dimensions were in the average range. However, subjects did report high Personal Accomplishment scores that were statistically significantly different from other allied health professions. A significant difference was also found between males and females in the Emotional Exhaustion dimension. No differences were identified among ATCs who worked in different employment settings. The top sources of stress for the entire population were working too many hours (33), salary (30), coaches (27), family conflict (22), and lack of physical resources (18). Even when the data were sorted by gender, many of the variables remained the same. The top 5 sources of stress for female ATCs were: coaches (16), working too many hours (11), salary (12), lack of respect (9), and lack of physical resources (9). The top sources of stress for males were too many hours (22), family conflicts (19), salary (18), coaches (11), and lack of resources (9) respectively.

Very little research is available to identify how attire in the athletic training field impacts perceptions of professional knowledge and competence. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of attire on high school athletic directors’ perceptions of an athletic trainer’s professional knowledge and competence. The researcher emailed a questionnaire to ninety-four high school athletic directors from the state of California. The questionnaire measured the effect of attire on the perceptions of skills, knowledge, approachability, experience, education level, overall competence, and representation of an athletic trainer and focused on the difference between khaki attire, professional attire, and workout attire in relationship to perceived knowledge and competence. The respondents rated khaki attire highest followed by professional attire and workout attire when evaluating skills, approachability, overall competence, experience, and knowledge. Representation and education level rated khaki attire as the highest, followed by professional attire, and workout attire rated the lowest. These results indicate khaki attire as the most appropriate attire for high school athletic trainers to wear to achieve the highest perceptions of competence and knowledge from high school athletic directors.

Background: The importance of nutrition on athletic performance is evident. Athletic trainers (ATs), nutritionists/RDs, strength and conditioning specialists (SCSs), and other athletic department personnel may be available to student-athletes and can be solicited for nutrition advice. Multiple studies have found that although some universities have a sports nutritionist on staff, student-athletes approached an AT most often for nutrition advice rather than an SCS, nutritionist or other person. ATs have the necessary education to provide proper nutrition information to student-athletes; however, it is not the primary role of an AT. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the quantity, quality and variety of nutrition support offered to Division I student-athletes who participate in football. Additionally, the purpose was to gain the perspective of the AT with regard to their role in educating football players on basic nutrition principles. Design: Cross sectional. Setting: Participants completed a web-based questionnaire. Patients or Other Participants: 253 Division I institutions were identified; from those institutions 120 head ATs were randomly chosen to receive the questionnaire. Responses from 30 (25%) head ATs (Football Bowl Subdivision 53.6%; Football Championship Subdivision 46.4%) were analyzed. Results: A majority (69%, n=20) of the institutions provided access to a nutritionist/RD. When asked who they believed student-athletes would solicit nutritional advice from first, respondents ranked their answers as follows: AT (n=11, 36.7%), SCS (n=10, 33.3%), nutritionist/RD (n=7, 23.3%), and coach (n=2, 6.7%). However, in the Likert scale questions, participants felt between neutral and slight agreement regarding their own responsibility, or that overall, ATs should feel responsible to teach nutrition or promote proper eating habits. In another question, participants were asked who is responsible for educating football players about nutrition at their institution and were able to select more than one response. Participants felt that all three professionals had a fairly high level of responsibility (SCS n=26, 86.7%; AT n=23, 76.7%; nutritionist/RD n=21, 70%). ATs ranked their perception of who helped with management of specific medical issues as follows: AT (n=26, 86.7%), nutritionist/RD (n=21, 70%), physician (n=18, 60%), and SCS (n=3, 10%). FBS institutions seem to provide more nutrition services compared to FCS institutions; 73.7% of FBS institutions are providing access to a nutritionist/RD and whereas only 26.5% of FCS institution provide this service. Conclusions: ATs from our study strongly agreed that nutrition plays an important role in performance. As shown in previous studies, ATs and SCSs were found to be the primary sources of nutrition information for student-athletes in Division I settings. This study gathered the AT’s perspective and perceived roles regarding where student-athletes receive nutrition information from most often. The ATs in this study confirmed that they felt the ATs and SCSs were primarily approached for nutrition advice. Although these ATs responded that the SCSs, ATs, and nutritionist/RDs were all responsible to educate football players at their institutions, the ATs answers were conflicting when they said that they did not feel the ATs role should be responsible for educating football players on nutrition and performance. Because ATs did perceive themselves as qualified, it is suggested that they may feel another professional of the sports medicine team is more appropriate to fill this role. A sports medicine team consisting of ATs, SCSs, nutritionists/RDs and physicians should work together to promote the benefits of nutrition and provide optimal services within their professional scope of their practice. In the absence of one or more professional, effective knowledge and communication must be maintained to assure that the roles of nutrition services are still provided to football players.

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Utilizing an analogue research design conducted via the Internet, this study assessed athletic trainers' abilities to recognize, diagnose, and intervene with a hypothetical athlete experiencing depression, and examined the impact of their gender, athlete gender, and athlete's presenting problem on their decisions. Athletic trainers' perceived competency in using psychosocial interventions with athletes, history of referring athletes to psychology professionals, and training backgrounds in psychology also were examined. Participants (270 male and 370 female certified athletic trainers) were randomly assigned to one of six conditions (Athlete Gender X Presenting Problem). After reading the appropriate vignette, they completed questions related to the athlete's psychological symptoms and diagnosis, referral recommendations, and use of psychosocial interventions if working with the athlete. The vignettes were identical except for the athlete's gender and problem. Overall, athletic trainers accurately identified the athlete's depressive symptoms/diagnosis and need for psychological referral. They rated the athlete significantly higher in Depressive Symptoms than in Anger/Agitation Symptoms and Compulsive Behavioral Symptoms, and as more likely to be experiencing a depressive disorder compared to an adjustment disorder, anxiety disorder, sleep disorder, or substance abuse disorder. Female athletic trainers provided significantly higher ratings of Depressive Symptoms than males and the injured athlete was rated significantly higher in Anger/Agitation than the performance problem athlete. Diagnosis ratings were not influenced by athlete gender, athletic trainer gender, or type of problem. Athletic trainers were most likely to refer the athlete to a psychology professional compared to an allied health professional, treating the athlete themselves, or doing nothing. Presenting problem significantly impacted referral recommendations. If treating the athlete themselves, athletic trainers were significantly more likely to use supportive interventions than cognitive-behavioral techniques; they felt significantly more competent in providing supportive interventions. Competency in both interventions was significantly enhanced if athletic trainers completed psychology coursework. Findings suggest that athletic trainers are able to accurately identify and intervene with athletes experiencing psychological problems.

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