Health Care Administration and Professional Responsibility
Practice Within the Lines
Administration questions test whether you know the legal and regulatory frame around athletic training. Negligence requires four elements: a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation, and damages. The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent athletic trainer with similar training would do in similar circumstances - often established through professional standards, position statements, state law, and expert testimony. The best protection is consistent, contemporaneous documentation plus written policies and an up-to-date EAP.
Know record-keeping law: FERPA governs education records at schools; HIPAA governs protected health information held by covered entities such as clinics and hospitals and generally does not apply to school records the same way. Know the difference between a policy (a standing rule) and a procedure (how the rule is executed).
Scope of practice is set by state practice acts and the Board of Certification; the NATA provides guidance but does not license anyone. Know your state's supervision and referral requirements, continuing education requirements, the code of ethics (confidentiality, competence, conflicts of interest), bloodborne pathogen precautions under OSHA, and the elements of informed consent.
Trap: assuming a physician must always be physically present. Most states require a written protocol or consultation arrangement, not on-site supervision.
Worked example: asked to evaluate a student in a school with no team physician, the athletic trainer follows the written referral and standing-order protocol, documents the evaluation, and refers rather than diagnosing outside scope.