By: Lynette Carlson, DHSc, LAT, ATC
Hello Friends! My name is Lynette Carlson and I’m honored to serve as the new chair of the TATS Ethics & Compliance Committee! I am an Assistant Professor and Clinical Education Coordinator at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I also have my own practice, Sports Medicine Solutions, where I provide medical care to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, TAG Gymnastics, Chattanooga Roller Derby, and see patients as an Active Release Techniques certified provider. Over the next few months, the committee members will introduce themselves via this Choices Blog. Our mission is to “support the Tennessee Athletic Trainers Society's core value of promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct and professionalism in the field of athletic training.” We are excited to highlight topics important to the membership and we want to hear from you! If you’d like to author a blog or if you have a topic idea, please feel free to reach me at lynette-carlson@utc.edu or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Code 2 of the BOC Code of Professional Responsibility is Competency. Specifically, it states “The Athletic Trainer, specialist or applicant: 2.1 Engages in lifelong, professional and continuing educational activities to promote continued competence. 2.2 Complies with the most current BOC recertification policies and requirements.”
Let us break down Code 2. To me, the key to 2.1 is promoting continued competence. It isn’t enough to just attend continuing education conferences and collect CEU’s that do not support your growth as an athletic trainer. It is our ethical responsibility to report contact hours according to what we actually attended, which may not be the maximum allowed for a conference according to the BOC.
What does “competency” mean to you? Does it mean specializing in a particular aspect of patient care (e.g., concussions, rehabilitation, mental health, etc.) and having a “contemporary expertise?” Does it mean you are more of a wholistic athletic trainer that believes in being well rounded? I believe both definitions hold merit in our profession. If you are an athletic trainer in an industrial setting, you may find yourself specializing in preventative medicine. If you are the sole provider at a small, rural high school in Tennessee, you may be best employed as a wholistic practitioner. Either way, we have a professional responsibility to continuously grow our knowledge and keep up with current trends in medicine.
The key to 2.2, for me, is complying with the most current BOC requirements. If you’ve followed the BOC in the past couple years, you’ve heard about how change is coming! BOC volunteers and other stakeholders are actively analyzing our continuing education model. There are currently 4 requirements to renew the BOC credential: 1) attest to compliance with the BOC Standards of Practice, 2) maintain emergency cardiac care certification, 3) pay the annual maintenance fee, and 4) report continuing education. For the current reporting period, ending December 31, 2023, the process for reporting and earning continuing education is not new. If you have not completed your CEUs yet, take advantage of the different categories to earn your CEUs. There are many resources available to find free CEUs that would offer continued growth according to your interests and professional practice. The current A-D categories are likely to undergo a major face-lift as our model for maintaining credentials changes. I trust that the people working on this initiative have the best interests of the profession and public at heart. That is what certification is all about – protecting the public. After all, the mission of the BOC is to “provide exceptional credentials and standards the public can trust.”
So don’t delay! December is approaching quickly! Don’t just collect CEUs but be intentional about gaining competency and knowledge that makes you a better clinician and impacts patient care. Also, stay active and up to date with changes in our continuing education model!