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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Sports Medicine Panel Brings Athletic Training to the Forefront at NSU
Patient Centered Care in Sports Medicine Panel took place recently to not only celebrate Athletic Training Month but to highlight the Interprofessional practice of the Sports Medicine Team here at NSU.
Participating in the “Patient-Centered Care in Sports Medicine” | A Panel Discussion event were:
Dustin Gatens, M.S., ATC, head athletic trainer at NSU; Steve Pfister, M.S., PT, OCS, part of NSU’s sports medicine interdisciplinary team; Psychologist Stephen Russo, Ph.D., faculty athletic representative at NSU; and Elizabeth Swann, Ph.D., ATC, associate professor and athletic training program director at the college.
The Panel discussed the importance of both the physical and psychosocial welfare of the individual athlete as the highest priority of the athletic trainer and the team physician, in both the college and high school settings. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Inter-Association Consensus Statement on Best Practices for Sports Medicine Management for Secondary School and Colleges, there are more than 7.6 million students participating in organized secondary school athletics, including practices and games, in the United States. Last year more than 420,000 student athletes represented their colleges in athletic participation. It is estimated that more than 1.4 million injuries occur annually to secondary school athletes; and approximately 209,000 yearly at the collegiate level across 25 NCAA sports.
During the Q and A portion of the panel discussion, the group provided the following example
When discussing NSU’s interdisciplinary and collaborative approach in evaluating, diagnosing and treating athletes. An athlete with a concussion or traumatic brain injury would receive an initial medical evaluation from the athletic trainer during a practice. The athlete would then be referred to the physican, Kusineski and together with Russo, provide a medical assessment and complete a neuropsychology testing referred to as an IMPACT assessment. All information from each level of review is completed to gathered in order to make the best medical decision for the athlete.
More information about the NSU Sports Medicine Team can be found at http://www.nsusharks.com/sports/2010/11/22/ATH01.aspx?id=88.
To learn more about the professional and personal lives of current and future athletic trainers: listen to the award-winning ATPodcast series, co-created by Pradeep Vanguri, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of athletic training at clinical site. Also available on iTunes