Athletic Training one of health care’s best kept secrets

     Hunter Dawson, of Danville, Va., applies cold compresses to baseball pitcher Austin Harris’ arm. Harris, a sophomore from Troy, N.C., is just four days off ligament reconstruction surgery, a common surgery for pitchers. Dawson is giving him ice therapy to reduce the swelling and decrease recovery time. With Dawson’s help, Harris will get back to Campbell University’s Fighting Camels baseball team sooner and Campbell student, Dawson, will have added some very practical experience to his portfolio as an exercise science major with a special concentration in athletic training.
     Dawson isn’t certain what setting he would like to work yet. His training gives him a number of options, however. That’s one of the perks of being an athletic training major, Dawson said.
     “I could work in a health care clinic, be an athletic trainer for a college, high school or work in professional sports,” he said. “I love sports and I love helping people so this was a good major for me.”
     Dr. Mary L. Jones, athletic training education program director and assistant professor, said the program just received an accreditation extension from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). The next comprehensive program review will occur in 2011-2012.
     “That’s what we’ve been working for,” Jones said excitedly. “In 2000, the program received initial accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
     Under the auspices of the Department of Exercise Science and within the College of Arts and Sciences, the Athletic Training Education program offers a Bachelor of Science degree. Students receiving the degree are eligible to become board certified by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of Certification (BOC). Graduates of the program are eligible upon BOC certification to work in colleges and universities; high schools; health care facilities such as medical clinics, physical therapy clinics, hospitals and fitness and health centers; and with professional sports teams.
     “We are highly educated and skilled specialists who work with the athletic and physically active population in the areas of prevention, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries,” said Jones. “We are allied health care professionals, recognized by the American Medical Association in 1991, that work under the supervision of medical doctors.”
     There are currently 11 athletic training majors in the curriculum component of the program and between 10 and 15 majors in the pre-professional component at Campbell. The program offers small class sizes and, in many instances, one-on-one training. Each student enrolled in the program must complete an academic and clinical education component.
     “The program is an accredited academic program in the Department of Exercise Science and works with the Department of Athletics to ensure the students gain both educational and clinical application experiences,” Jones said. “We have off-site training in venues such as physical therapy clinics, medical clinics and local high schools, as well. What is unique about the program is the student to staff ratio and their access to professionals who teach in our curriculum such as our adjunct professor who is dually credentialed as a physical therapist and certified athletic trainer. We are also so closely linked with other allied health care professionals in pharmacy and other fields on campus who assist us with instruction and/or clinical health care instruction. The new McLeod Athletic training facility, a state-of-the-art facility supporting the athletic staff in providing training and health care for student athletes, is also another important bonus of the program. In addition, Jones gives credit to the athletic training students, the CU athletic training staff, Dr. Andy Bowman, director of continuing education for the Campbell University School of Pharmacy; Janenne Ellis, adjunct professor in Exercise Science and athletic training approved clinical instructor; Dr. Chris Stewart, medical director of the infirmary and Coats Medical Clinic; Ann Parker, medical assistant at the infirmary; Jerry Breneman, physician’s assistant at the infirmary; Dr. Bill Freeman, chairman of the Department of Exercise Science, Dr. Donna Woolard, professor of exercise science; and Dr. Mark Hammond, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
     “We are student focused, and we would not be able to accomplish what we have without our students doing what they have been asked to do,” said Jones. “We have a great program and great students academically and clinically.”
     For more information about the Athletic Training program, contact Dr. Mary L. Jones at (910) 814-5712 or (800) 334-4111, ext. 5712 or e-mail her at jonesm@campbell.edu.

Photo Copy: Campbell athletic training and exercise science major Hunter Dawson, standing, applies cold compresses to Austin Harris, pitcher for the Fighting Camels baseball team.