Now that you have realized that you want to be an aide or intern for an AT, how do you know what you can and cannot do? You must know that there is immediately a lot of responsibility that rests on your shoulders for both you and your athletes. As a student, athlete (patient) and aide, confidentiality still applies, but in a way HIPAA does not.
This took me a long time to learn and figure out how to write. It has not been easy trying to navigate through the laws of healthcare and athletic training, while also not having any sort of degree. I have built up “trust” and merit with the school I work at, which is how I have been able to accomplish so much. I am very grateful to all the faculty, coaches, and staff for letting me use them as guinea pigs for this program. Know that wherever you decide to work, or set up a program, the following may change, but what I will state about HIPAA should be known and honored as part of this program. I wish to grow and learn along with the program, but the basics of this is: As a student yourself, you take on the buren of others your age. That is not always easy when they suffer a large injury and everyone knows you know about it and ask you what happened. But please, do not discuss injuries (small or large) with other athletes, students, parents, or friends. It may be hard sometimes, but it is very important to uphold this pillar of ethics in this program. There could be serious consequences otherwise.
HIPAA is an Act that was put into place in 1996. This Act serves to protect patient health records, injuries, and all topics discussed with their provider/Dr. In the case of an athletic trainer. What an athlete (patient) says in the training room where there are open ears, does not violate any HIPPA rules or regulations. The athlete (patient) is choosing to share that information knowing that others can hear.
There should always be availability and knowledge, that as an aide, you should and will step out if a serious matter is being discussed or that athlete (patient) would like privacy. However, due to the fact that most aides/interns will be under 18 when they are working, they are unable to sign a HIPAA document. Therefore they should know that they should not share information that has been told about or shown by other athletes (patients). This is ethically wrong, and they should be respectful of that person’s privacy.
Now that the main point has been discussed, the following are the fun parts you, as an aide, can do to help your AT.
Athletic training aids should know how their athletic trainers’ bag is organized. Whether the Athletic Director/Trainer deems that an aid can be on the sideline or not, it is important for the aid to know everything inside the medkit in case the trainer needs the aid to bring them something in an emergency. An aid should know what everything in the kit does, as well as where it goes. This link should get someone familiar with things normally in a medkit. Credit: @ItsDanny123
I am not a water girl, although I do make the best Gatorade in the words of our football team. Which brings me to my next point. An athletic trainer and an aid both have to have information on nutrition for athletes. A lot of athletes have dietary restrictions or health related needs for their personal nutrient intake. An athletic trainer should be aware of this and meet the needs of those students. So, it is important to learn the temperature needed for practice and how to use a wet bulb in order to make sure the athletes can safely practice and have enough water breaks. The student aid should also spend time trying to find a good water to Gatorade ratio so that the athletes do not cramp when they are playing/practicing.
Another way to help reinforce this knowledge is to make an imaginary nutrition plan. Just because student aids cannot actually give another student a nutritional meal plan, does not mean that they cannot make one and try it out themselves or have a family member or friend try it out. I’ve linked an example.
Among other miscellaneous things that your AT may have you do to help are the following:
- Making heel & lace pads by cutting them from the box and putting skin lube on it to prevent blisters.
- Restocking anything, but specifically bandaids (and the medkit when you get there).
- Inventorying the closet where everything is held when new inventory comes in. I will put a link to the google sheet I use as a template.
- Make ice buckets, medkits for individual teams, and fill water jugs before practice. Each team has a medkit at our school, so making sure that they have everything that they need for their sport is important.