The athletic trainers at Western New Mexico University (WNMU) are responsible for the delivery of health care to all student-athletes participating in sponsored WNMU athletic events. The WNMU athletic training staff will provide reasonable medical coverage for all student-athletes who compete in intercollegiate athletics. Each member of the athletic training staff will do his/her equal share to provide this service.
The athletic training staff will operate within the guidelines outlined in the WNMU Athletic Training Policies and Procedures, WNMU Drug Testing Policy, Drug-Free Sport, the NCAA banned substance list, the NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook, and the NCAA Division II Manual.
Services provided include prevention, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and illness sustained as a direct result of participating in practices and/or games. The program also provides educational opportunities for students interested in learning about and obtaining experience in a sports medicine environment.
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STUDENT-ATHLETE FORMS
In order to play sports at Western New Mexico University, new and returning student-athletes must complete and provide the WNMU athletic training and insurance forms.
Note: All physical examinations for new WNMU student-athletes must be dated AFTER May 1, 2011. In addition, all prospective WNMU student-athletes, prior to try-outs, must present a complete current physical examination form (within six months of try-out date) to a WNMU athletic staff member.
For questions, please contact the athletic trainer at (575) 538-6236 or via email at straint1@wnmu.edu.
INSURANCE
Effective August 1, 2008, all WNMU student-athletes are required to provide primary insurance for themselves in order to practice and/or compete. The athletic trainers can provide student-athletes who currently do not have coverage with information regarding available purchase options. Click here for complete insurance requirements.
DEFINITION OF AN ATHLETIC TRAINER
"An athletic trainer is a qualified allied health care professional educated and experienced in the management of health care problems associated with sports participation. In cooperation with physicians and other allied health care personnel, the athletic trainer functions as an integral member of the athletic health care team in secondary schools, colleges and universities, professional sports programs, sports medicine clinics and other athletic health care settings. The athletic trainer functions in cooperation with medical personnel, athletic administrators, coaches, and parents in the development and coordination of efficient and responsive athletic health care delivery systems."
ATHLETIC TRAINING EDUCATION
The athletic trainer's professional preparation is directed toward the development of specified competencies in the following domains: prevention, recognition and evaluation, management/treatment and disposition, rehabilitation, organization and administration, and education and counseling. Through a combination of formal classroom instruction and clinical experience, the athletic trainer is prepared to apply a wide variety of specific health care skills and knowledge within each of the domains.
CONCUSSION MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
1. WNMU will require student-athletes to sign a statement in which student-athletes accept the responsibility for reporting their injuries and illnesses to the athletic training staff, including signs and symptoms of concussions (attachment 1). During the signing process, education material1 will be provided to student-athletes regarding concussions, including signs and symptoms, importance of properly fitting equipment and high risk sport activities (e.g. leading with head) (attachment 2).
2. WNMU will have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) 2, 3, 4 on file and annually updated (attachment 3) for each athletics venue, including a concussion protocol. WNMU Department of Athletics and all healthcare providers and staff shall review and practice the plan and review the concussion protocol annually. These sessions will be conducted prior to the start of the sports season.
3. WNMU athletic training staff shall be empowered to determine management and return-to-play of any ill or injured student-athlete, as he/she deems appropriate. Conflicts or concerns should be forwarded to the team physician for remediation.
4. WNMU shall have on file a written team physician-directed concussion management plan2, 6 (attachment 4) that specifically outlines the roles of WNMU Department of Athletics healthcare staff (e.g., physician, certified athletic trainer, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, neuropsychologist). In addition the following components have been identified for the WNMU environment:
a. WNMU coaches will receive a copy of the concussion management plan and a fact sheet on concussion signs and symptoms1 (attachment 5).
b. WNMU athletic training staff and other healthcare providers will practice within the standards as established for their professional practice (e.g., team physician7, certified athletic trainer8, physical therapist, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, neurologist9, and neuropsychologist10).
c. WNMU will have on file and easily accessible pre-participation physical examinations that include concussion and medical history.
d. WNMU will have a certified athletic trainer on site or available for all at risk practices and competitions. A physician will be on site and available for at risk home events. Host institution’s medical staff will be utilized for away contests when no WNMU certified athletic trainer is available.
e. WNMU will have on record a baseline assessment6,10,11,12 for each new (first-year or transfer) student-athlete in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball, football, softball and volleyball. In addition, a baseline assessment will be recorded for any other student-athlete with a known history of concussion. Any athlete sustaining a concussion during the previous season is also re-baseline tested at the start of the next season. The baseline test will consist of a symptoms checklist, a balance test, and a computerized neuropsychological test (IMPACT). Neuropsychological tests will not be used as a standalone measure to diagnose the presence or absence of a concussion.
f. When a student-athlete shows any signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, the athlete will be removed immediately from practice or competition by a member of the coaching staff or athletic training staff. If removed by a coaching staff member, the coach will immediately refer the student-athlete for evaluation to a member of the athletic training staff. If an athletic trainer is not readily available and the athlete has minimal symptoms, the coach will contact an ATC immediately. If the coach is unable to contact an ATC, he/she should refer the athlete to the emergency room. If signs and symptoms are apparent and athlete’s condition is deteriorating, 911 must be activated.
g. During competition, an on field assessment will be made by an athletic training staff member. Visiting sport team members evaluated by WNMU athletic training staff will be managed in the same manner as WNMU student-athletes.
h. Any student-athlete diagnosed with a concussion will be withheld from competition or practice and will not return to activity for the remainder of that day and must be evaluated by an ATC or a team physician. Student-athletes that sustain a concussion outside of their sports will be managed in the same manner as those sustaining one during sport activity. Athletes will be provided with written home instructions (attachment 6), preferably given to a roommate, guardian or someone who can help the student-athlete and follow the instructions.
i. The student-athlete will receive serial monitoring for deterioration. An athlete with worsening symptoms, especially worsening headache, nausea or vomiting, increased confusion, garbled speech, lethargy, abnormal motor movements, or seizure activity must be transported immediately by ambulance to the emergency room. Any athlete with neck pain should be treated as if a cervical spine injury is present and the appropriate emergency action plan will be activated.
j. The student-athlete will be monitored for recurrence of symptoms both from physical exertion as well as mental exertion, such as reading, phone texting, computer games, watching TV/film, class work, etc. Academic advisors and professors will be notified of student-athlete’s concussion, with permission for release of information from the student-athlete (attachment 7).
k. The student-athlete will be evaluated by a team physician as outlined within the concussion management plan. Once asymptomatic and post-exertion assessments are within normal baseline limits, return-to-play will follow a medically supervised step process (attachment 8). If at any time during the return-to-play process the athlete becomes symptomatic, the athlete will be re-assessed daily until asymptomatic. Once asymptomatic, the athlete will start at the beginning of the return-to-play protocol. Final return-to-play will reside with a team physician13 or the physician’s designee.
5. A WNMU certified athletic trainer will document the incident, evaluation, management plan and clearance of the concussed student-athlete. Documentation will include initial symptoms checklist, balance and IMPACT baseline scores as well as subsequent evaluations and changes in status regarding activities and final clearance to return-to-play.
a. Symptoms checklist will be performed once daily and IMPACT testing will be performed within 24-48 hours of sustaining a concussion. Follow-up IMPACT tests will take place every 48 hours thereafter until athlete reaches baseline scores.
6. Although sports currently have rules in place; athletics staff, student-athletes and officials should continue to emphasize that purposeful or flagrant head or neck contact in any sport should not be permitted and current rules of play should be strictly enforced.
Reference Documents
1. NCAA and CDC Educational Material on Concussion in Sport. Available online at www.ncaa.org/health-safety
2. NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook. 2009-2010.
3. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Emergency Planning in Athletics. Journal of Athletic Training, 2002; 37(1):99–104.
4. Sideline Preparedness for the Team Physician: A Consensus Statement. 2000. Publication by six sports medicine organizations: AAFP, AAOS, ACSM, AMSSM, AOSSM, and AOASM.
5. Recommendations and Guidelines for Appropriate Medical Coverage of Intercollegiate Athletics. National Athletic Trainer’s Association. 2000. Revised 2003, 2007, 2010.
6. Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport Held in Zurich, 2008. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2009; 19(3):185-200.
7. Concussion (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury) and the Team Physician: A Consensus Statement. 2006. Publication by six sports medicine organizations: AAFP, AAOS, ACSM, AMSSM, AOSSM, and AOASM.
8. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Management of Sport-Related Concussion. Journal of Athletic Training, 2004; 39:280-297.
9. Practice parameter: the management of concussion in sports (summary statement). Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee. Neurology, 1997; 48:581-5.
10. Neuropsychological evaluation in the diagnosis and management of sports-related concussion. National Academy of Neuropsychology position paper. Moser, Iverson, Echemendia, Lovell, Schatz Webbe, Ruff , Barth. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2007; 22:909–916.
11. Who should conduct and interpret the neuropsychological assessment in sports-related concussion? Echemendia RJ, Herring S, Bailes J. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2009; 43:i32-i35.
12. Test-retest reliability of computerized concussion assessment programs. Broglio SP, Ferrara MS, Macciocchi SN, Baumgartner TA, Elliott R Journal of Athletic Training, 2007; 42(4):509-514.
13. The Team Physician and Return-To-Play Issues: A Consensus Statement. 2002. Publication by six sports medicine organizations: AAFP, AAOS, ACSM, AMSSM, AOSSM, and AOASM.