Athletic Trainers Play Vital Role Behind-the-Scenes
Written by: Sue Gottlieb
Attend any “contact” sport competition at Fox Chapel Area High School – soccer, basketball, football, field hockey, baseball, softball, and lacrosse – and there’s comfort in knowing one person will always be there: John “JP” Panos, ATC, the school’s longtime athletic trainer and assistant athletic director.
In case there is any confusion, Panos, and his counterpart at Dorseyville Middle School, Jennell Wolfe, ATC, are not just “trainers.” They are highly-qualified members of a profession recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) that requires, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree in athletic training, a clinical rotation, and passing stringent national and state exams to obtain a license and certification.
Education, awareness, and prevention are important components of a high school certified athletic trainer’s job, especially when it comes to creating awareness of serious conditions like mild traumatic brain injury (concussion) and sudden cardiac arrest. Part of this effort involves a simple yet helpful test for concussion called Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT™). The Fox Chapel Area School District was one of the first public school districts in Pennsylvania to implement the testing system, which has become the most widely used computerized concussion evaluation system for athletes worldwide. The test is administered to seventh, ninth, and eleventh grade student athletes to get baseline data. If an athlete is injured later on, these results can then be studied and compared with the post-injury ImPACT scores.
“In cases of mild traumatic brain injury, we work closely with the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program,” says Panos, who also serves as an accredited clinical instructor at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University. “They evaluate and treat a very high percentage of high school, college, and professional athletes. We are very fortunate to have a program of this caliber nearby, and to have access to internationally renowned neurocognitive concussion specialists.”
When injuries do occur, certified athletic trainers usually are the frontline for the health care of scholastic athletes and the first people called upon to assess and treat injuries on site. It is a certified athletic trainer’s knowledgeable decisions that can help prevent further damage.
Fox Chapel Area’s certified athletic trainers (ATC) often work closely with an athlete’s personal physician during the rehabilitation process. Therapy can, in part, be administered in the Fox Chapel Area High School athletic training room, where most functional rehab can be accommodated. Contrary to what some people may believe, it is not up to a coach to determine when an athlete can resume activity.
“The physician and certified athletic trainer work in tandem to monitor a recovering athlete and determine when he or she is well enough to resume practice, and at what level of competition,” says Panos. “Physicians rely on us a lot because we are their on-site eyes and ears. Contrary to what some people believe, it is not up to a coach to decide when a player can return.”
All things considered, it’s no surprise that Fox Chapel Area High School has become a desired clinical rotation setting for aspiring certified athletic trainers from the accredited programs at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University. From taping an ankle to witnessing emergency triaging, to injury follow up and recovery, there is no substitute for these real-life experiences as they prepare to become relevant members of the athletic health care team.