Athletic Training

The Athletic Training major at the University of Idaho is a Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) approved program that prepares individuals to work with health care issues of athletes and the physically active individual.  The Athletic Training major is housed in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance within the College of Education. 

Students are educated in six domains including injury prevention, immediate care of injuries, injury recognition, evaluation and assessment, injury rehabilitation and reconditioning, health care administration, education and counseling, and professional development.  UI’s Athletic Training program provides professional preparation for athletic training positions in high schools, college/universities, professional athletic teams, sports medicine clinics, health and wellness centers, and other private organizations.

UI's Athletic Training program is committed to providing an excellent education.  The program integrates academic concepts with a strong and comprehensive clinical experience that run concurrently.  This allows the athletic training student opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills in the classroom and then immediately apply the mastered skills to the clinical setting.  Completion of the program leads to eligibility to sit for the National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Certification examination.

Students complete pre-professional courses during their first year at UI.  Application to the clinical setting occurs spring semester following an observational period in the athletic training room.  The number of students admitted into the clinical setting will be dependent upon the number of positions available each year.  Only students admitted to the clinical setting will proceed into the clinical portion of the Athletic Training major.

Once admitted to the program, students must complete a minimum of 1,500 hours of clinical hands-on experience during their sophomore, junior, and senior years in cooperation with UI’s intercollegiate athletic teams and other clinical sites in the Moscow-Pullman community.  These sites include the local high school, sports medicine clinic, and with UI’s orthopedic surgeons.  We are working to expand our sites for a greater variety of experiences.  As knowledge and competency progress, the athletic training student is given more responsibility, which includes specific sport assignments.  Completion of the program leads to eligibility to sit for the Board of Certification (BOC) examination.

Certified athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in preventing, recognizing, managing and rehabilitating injuries that result from physical activity.  As part of a complete health care team, the certified athletic trainer works under the direction of a licensed physician and in cooperation with other health care professionals, athletics administrators, coaches and parents.

          Students who want to become certified athletic trainers must earn a degree from an accredited athletic training curriculum.  Accredited programs include formal instruction in areas such as injury/illness prevention, first aid and emergency care, assessment of injury/illness, human anatomy and physiology, therapeutic modalities, and nutrition.  Classroom learning is enhanced through clinical education experiences.  More than 70 percent of certified athletic trainers hold at least a master’s degree.

 To become certified athletic trainers, students must pass a comprehensive test administered by the Board of Certification.  Once certified, they must meet ongoing continuing education requirements in order to remain certified.