March is Athletic Training Month.   The theme for 2019 is “ATs ARE Health Care!"  It is great to see athletic trainers advocate for the profession and “declare” that ATs are Health Care during this month.  But what about the rest of the year?  Do you demonstrate that you are part of the health care team?   

How about our educational programs? Do our curricula, placement within the university, and resources suggest that we are health care professionals?  Do your students learn with other health care profession students, sharing ideas and expertise?  ATs have a lot of expertise we can share with our other health care profession colleagues and students.  How about offering for our AT students to assist with the musculoskeletal examination labs for other health care professions?   Learning from peers can be a very good learning experience for students.    For our AT program directors, have you thought about how you can acculturate your students into healthcare? For our other healthcare colleagues, if you haven’t previously worked with the AT faculty or students at your institution, you might be surprised at the value of collaborating.  Together, let’s help change healthcare and healthcare education in this country.    I invite your thoughts and ideas through my LinkedIn page.