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Athletic Trainer
Every state except Alaska has a college or university that offers
a four-year (bachelor’s degree) program in athletic training.
As outlined by the National
Athletic Trainers Association
(NATA), course work gives
students skills in five major
areas:
injury
prevention;
clinical
evaluation
and
diagnosis; immediate and
emergency care; treatment
and
rehabilitation
;
and
organization and professional
health and well-being. Not all
the learning takes place in a
classroom. Students also have
to work with actual patients,
under the watchful eye of a
certified athletic trainer or
another health professional.
After receiving a degree
from an appropriate school,
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Degrees in
Sports Medicine/
Exercise Science
The four sports medicine jobs focused on
in this book are not the only fields in sports
medicine, of course. People looking to
combine athletics and health can find jobs
in several different fields after earning just
a bachelor’s degree in sports medicine or
exercise science. In many cases, though, the
jobs do require some certification. Here’s a
listing of some of those jobs, provided by
the American College of Sports Medicine:
• Aerobics Instructor
• Exercise Specialist in a
hospital
• Employee Fitness Director
with a business
• Personal Trainer
• Physical Education Teacher
C
areers
O
ff
T
he
F
ield
•
Health Careers in Sports