Coaching, Safety, and Professional Practice
What this domain tests
Scope of practice, screening and consent, emergency readiness, concussion and skin-infection management, and defensible record keeping.
Core rules
- Stay inside scope: coaches program training and refer out for medical, dietetic and psychological issues.
- Obtain informed consent and run pre-participation screening before hard training or contact work.
- Have a written emergency action plan: who calls emergency services, who fetches the AED, who manages the athlete, where the exits are - and rehearse it.
- Suspected concussion means immediate removal, no same-day return, formal assessment and a graduated return-to-contact protocol.
- Check skin before contact sessions; contagious lesions mean no mat time until cleared.
- Document sessions, load, incidents and referrals, and keep mat sanitation and equipment checks routine.
Worked example
A fighter reports headache and "fogginess" after a sparring round. Reasoning: any suspected concussion ends the session immediately, regardless of how the athlete argues. Action: remove from sparring, do not let them drive, refer for medical assessment, record the incident and the decision, and only begin a graduated return once cleared.
Traps that cost marks
- Letting a symptomatic athlete "shake it off" and continue sparring.
- Giving a nutritional or medical prescription outside your qualification.
- No AED location known and no rehearsed emergency plan.
- Skipping documentation because "nothing serious happened".