An assessment of need for a N.A.T.A. athletic training certification program for Middle Tennessee State University.

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to assess whether a need for N.A.T.A. (National Athletic Trainers Association) certified athletic trainers in senior high school (grades 9-12 and 10-12) exists in the middle Tennessee area and to determine whether such services were desired by school officials.

To determine such a need, the investigator administered color coded questionnaires to 93 senior high school principals within a fifty-mile radius of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to 829 athletic coaches who attended the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (T.S.S.A.A.) clinic held on July 25-27, 1979, at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Athletic Center, and to 161 freshman and sophomore students enrolled in ten randomly selected physical education activity courses at Middle Tennessee State University during the fall semester of 1979.

Data were collected and analyzed during the spring, summer, and fall semesters of 1979. The results were put into frequencies and percentages were derived. Confidence interval estimates were computed at the .50 level so that predictions could be made about specific responses on certain questionnaire items that would aid in achieving the purpose of the study. A significance of the proportions, analyzed at the .01 level, was also utilized to determine if there were differences of opinions of coaches and principals surveyed on certain responses. There was found to be a significant difference of opinions wherever this statistical technique was employed.

The final conclusions of the study show a need for a National Athletic Trainers Association (N.A.T.A.) certification program at Middle Tennessee State University. It was concluded that, due to the lack of certified trainers, coaches were the major providers of treatment and care for athletic injuries and that there is a definite need for certified trainers in senior high schools.

The majority of coaches and principals indicated that a N.A.T.A. athletic training certification program was needed at a state university and would be beneficial to the region.