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CERT A COMMUNICATION FROM THE BOARD OF CERTIFICATION | NOVEMBER 2020 BOC Approach to Racial Injustice | Push to Expand AT Scope of Practice | Adapting to Online Learning | BOC Specialty Certification DURING PANDEMIC ATHLETIC TRAINING ADAPTS2 BOCATC.ORG | WINTER 2020INSIDE THIS ISSUE Board of Directors 3 2020 BOC Board Officers 4 Letter from the President 5 The BOC Honors Board Member’s Life and Achievements 6 BOC Board Members Named for Upcoming Term BOC Connection 7 BOC’s Ongoing Approach to Racial Injustice 8 Athletic Training Adapts During Pandemic 11 BOC Holiday Closures 12 Featured BOC Approved Provider: Andrews Research & Education Foundation Education 13 New BOC Approved Providers 14 Adapting to Online Learning and Finding CE Programs 15 Learn More About BOC Specialty Certification Industry News 11 Pandemic Prompts Push to Expand AT Scope of Practice 16 In-Depth Look: Athletic Trainer in a Collegiate Setting Adapts During Pandemic State Regulations 19 Legislation News 20 Professional Practice and Discipline NATA Insight 21 Latest News and Updates from NATA BOC Corner 18 BOC News in Brief 22 Meet the BOC Volunteers Candidates 23 2021 Exam Deadlines At-A-Glance 2020 BOC Board Officers President/Athletic Trainer Director Patrick Sexton, EdD, ATC Vice President/Athletic Trainer Director René Revis Shingles, PhD, AT, ATC Treasurer/Physician Director Douglas Gregory, MD Athletic Trainer Director Michael Carroll, MEd, LAT, ATC Athletic Trainer Director Neil Curtis, EdD, LAT, ATC Athletic Trainer Director Kimberly Detwiler, MS, LAT, ATC, CSCS Athletic Trainer Director Mary Kirkland, MS, LAT, ATC Corporate/Educational Director Diana Settles, MAT, ATC Public Director-Appointee Robin Y. Jenkins, MSW, DCSW, CPM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anne M. Minton, MA, MBA WINTER 2020 | BOCATC.ORG3 Letter from the President Patrick Sexton, EdD, ATC The year 2020 has surely been one for the books. As I reflect on issues at the forefront – coronavirus (COVID-19) and racial injustice – I have a view of how the BOC has adapted through this changing time. As an organization we have truly faced each day of this year head-on, adjusting as needed to ensure we are able to maintain the highest levels of support and service to those in the athletic training profession. Adaptability has been a driving force in our work throughout 2020. Situations arose that we had never faced before. Being able to assess new conditions, think creatively and strategically and then pivot immediately with strong solutions have helped to keep things on course. During the global health crisis, Athletic Trainers (ATs) have stepped forward in communities across the world to protect, prevent and promote the athletic training profession. Whether on the front lines of the pandemic or helping prevent infection and illness during return to activity, ATs have continued to demonstrate their value as members of the health care community. At the BOC, our intention is to continue to support ATs during these tough times. COVID-19 has brought safety and infection control center stage for our board and staff, as well as candidates and ATs. We’ve worked to keep operations, staff and stakeholders safe, ensure testing environments and processes have been safe for candidates, as well as updating our “BOC Facilities and Principles” and “BOC Guiding Principles for AT Policy and Procedure Development” documents and online tools with enhanced infection control policy to keep settings for ATs and patients safe. The BOC continues to look at how we can improve our work in light of racial injustice within our society. Based on feedback we received in response to our communicated racial injustice message, the BOC Board of Directors created a task force that is focused on cultural competence. This new group will address diversity, equity and inclusion. During our June meeting, the board formed this task force and subsequently named Cathy Ortega EdD, PT, ATC, OCS and Carla R. Gilson, MA, AT, LAT, CES as co-chairs, along with the board liaison to the task force, Dr. René Shingles, PhD, AT, ATC. The charge of this task force will be developed by its members, with a goal to develop guiding principles to evaluate all BOC procedures, services, recruitment efforts, governance and staffing to make sure the organization is displaying competence within these areas. Keeping cultural proficiency at the forefront on an ongoing basis is imperative. During the June BOC board meeting the directors and staff, along with an outside facilitator, took part in a comprehensive strategic planning workshop. Our group addressed strategic goals for the coming future, as well as the future of certification. The result was a revised and enhanced strategic plan to sharpen our focus and carry us from 2020 through 2022. We took a slightly new approach to this process that will deepen our work and allow us to fine-tune activities with clearly defined and measurable results. In 2020, the BOC board approved the naming of two new recognition awards. What was previously our Public Advocacy Award was renamed to the Dave Montgomery Advocacy Award, in honor of our longtime BOC volunteer, board member and friend who passed away in July. In addition, we recently approved the addition of the Denise Fandel Leadership Excellence Award to honor our recently retired chief executive officer. This suggestion came as a proposal from the BOC Nominating Committee. The board welcomed our new Public Director Robin Jenkins. Her service on the board began as public member- appointee in September. This status will last through the end of 2020 and her full permanent term status will start Jan. 1, 2021. She will serve a three-year term, with an option for another three-year term. 4 BOCATC.ORG | WINTER 2020During 2020 the BOC changed its process for recruitment, nomination and appointment for new members of the Board of Directors. Response to this change was extremely positive as we had nearly 40 highly qualified candidates overall for the new AT director and physician director positions. Based on results, it has shown to be a smooth and effective method to build representation within our organization. Development of the orthopedic specialty certification continues through the outstanding work of the Specialty Council. In August the council presented a BOC webinar titled “Orthopedics: The First Athletic Training Specialty Certification.” This fall, ATs participated in a public comment period for the orthopedic specialty certification eligibility and recertification requirements. In addition, the “Content Outline for BOC Orthopedic Practice Analysis” was posted on the BOC website. It is with great sadness that the BOC mourns the passing of Dave Montgomery, public director on the BOC Board of Directors and longtime advocate for the athletic training profession. To honor Montgomery, the BOC has renamed its Public Advocacy Award to the Dave Montgomery Advocacy Award. This award recognizes individuals, groups or organizations who demonstrate leadership in protecting athletic training consumers. Recipients are leaders in the conception, construction and/ or modification of Athletic Trainer regulation that protects the public and athletic training consumers. Learn more about Montgomery’s life and achievements on the BOC website. The BOC Honors Board Member’s Life and Achievements The BOC International Committee continues to work, laying the groundwork for a new international arrangement. We are working with the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education and key subject matter experts to define the scope of work and develop the process, with a goal to finalize by the end of May 2021. The current Mutual Recognition Agreement with Ireland has been extended to Spring 2021. As we reach the final stretch of 2020, the BOC would like to acknowledge the adaptability and outstanding achievements of the ATs we serve. All in all, the BOC has pushed through 2020 coming out on the other side stronger and even more resilient. We’ve stayed proactive and adapted to situations in order to best support the audiences we serve. With Deep Appreciation, Patrick Sexton WINTER 2020 | BOCATC.ORG5 The BOC is pleased to announce the appointment of Robin Y. Jenkins, MSW, DCSW, CPM as public director, Christina M. Eyers, EdD, AT, ATC as Athletic Trainer (AT) director and Katherine L. Dec, MD, FAAPMR, FAMSSM as physician director to the BOC Board of Directors. Following the passing of Dave Montgomery in July, Jenkins was appointed as public director. Jenkins will serve a three-year term with the possibility of a second term. She will take office January 2021. Eyers and Dr. Dec will take office in 2022, following a year of mentorship and learning as director-appointees. Jenkins currently serves as client engagement director-Allied Health Professions for the International Consultants of Delaware, Inc. Jenkins brings a unique mix of leadership experiences in multiple industries including regulatory affairs, consumer protection, credentialing, enforcement, membership associations, higher education and accreditation. She has served as board president for the Council on Licensure, Enforcement, and Regulation, board member on the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy and board president of Inwood House Development Corporation to name a few of her achievements. With her extensive experience, Jenkins is a valuable addition to be BOC board. Eyers is currently director of athletic training and community outreach for the Henry Ford Health System based in Detroit. She has vast leadership, education and practice experience focused in both athletic and clinical settings. For over a decade she served on the Board of Athletic Trainers through BOC BOARD MEMBERS Named for Coming Term the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs in Michigan as both member and chair. In addition to her regulatory role with the state, Eyers also served as president of the Michigan Athletic Trainers’ Society. In addition, she has served at the regional and national level in volunteer roles for both the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association and the BOC. She has a passion for and dedication to the athletic training profession that will add strength to the BOC board. Dec is a sports medicine physician currently working with the Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems as a professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation and the department of orthopaedic surgery. She has extensive background collaborating and working with ATs in a variety of settings and across age populations. Her experience covers work in private hospitals, private practice, academic hospital systems and as a sideline medical volunteer for youth to Olympic to professional sports activities. She has served on the National Federation of State High Schools Association’s sports medicine advisory committee. She has held leadership roles, including president, with the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. Throughout her career, Dec has been an advocate for ATs as health care professionals in all practice settings and will bring her vision to the BOC board to advance the athletic training profession. Jenkins, Eyers and Dec were appointed by the BOC Board of Directors following a nomination process guided by the Nominating Committee. Robin Y. Jenkins MSW, DCSW, CPM Katherine L. Dec MD, FAAPMR, FAMSSM Christina M. Eyers EdD, AT, ATC 6 BOCATC.ORG | WINTER 2020BOC Board of Directors President Patrick Sexton, along with the BOC board members, distributed a message in June in reaction to the increasing prominence of racial injustice in our society. In response to this communication the board received and considered input from Athletic Trainers (ATs), athletic training educators and stakeholders to further develop BOC efforts to specifically address this issue and build on existing efforts. Based on your feedback, the BOC board has created the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Advocacy Strategies (IDEAS) Task Force. During its June meeting, the board formed this group and subsequently named Cathy Ortega EdD, PT, ATC, OCS and Carla R Gilson, MA, AT, LAT, CES as co-chairs, along with the board liaison to the task force, Dr. René Shingles, PhD, AT, ATC. The primary charge of the new IDEAS Task Force is to support the BOC’s Strategic Priority 1: Advocate. BOC’s public policy and oversight agencies recognize the value of BOC certificants while affirming diversity, equity and inclusion, and is the preeminent source of market data collection on diversity for the certified population. Strategically, the IDEAS Task Force will investigate inclusion, diversity and equity within the BOC and the related athletic training community in order to suggest strategic and deliberative advocacy and leadership development for future committees, policies and procedures. Operationally, the IDEAS Task Force will collaborate with BOC staff in support of initiatives for future volunteers and staff recruitment. Collaboratively, the IDEAS Task Force will work with the board and staff, and the AT Strategic Alliance partners, to align efforts to communicate as a profession. A major ongoing focus at the BOC is to continually integrate cultural sensitivity throughout all programs, including the exam item development process. Every five to seven years the BOC implements a third-party cultural sensitivity study to review the exam to make sure it does not contain racial or cultural bias within content and question structure. Each year, the BOC provides ethnicity data tied to candidate pass rates to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee for review and assessment. The BOC continues to work on development of a Competency Assessment Module that will focus on cultural competence. This will soon be available to all ATs. Such efforts are working to provide a more balanced and culturally sensitive education platform for certified ATs as they enter and grow within their careers. In addition to working internally, the BOC is collaborating with its partners in the AT Strategic Alliance. The four organizations, BOC, Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education, NATA and the NATA Research and Education Foundation met in September and discussed diversity, equity and inclusion strategies on a broad scale. A key component of these talks was to define an overall approach to leadership development and be cognizant of how each organization mirrors society, in regard to this issue. The alliance has a strong commitment to these strategies and are working on developing concrete implementation of goals through a joint approach. They’ve increased communications and added a fourth meeting annually to facilitate their work. Lastly, it is imperative to foster diversity among ATs and boost our career field by promoting and increasing opportunities for roles within various athletic training settings. ATs make an immense contribution that has an impact on individual lives and society overall. Our goal is to increase diversity and sensitivity among ATs positively impacting those with whom they work and treat. BOC’s Ongoing Approach to Racial Injustice Being Part of the Solution WINTER 2020 | BOCATC.ORG7 DURING PANDEMIC ATHLETIC TRAINING ADAPTS Since its onset, the coronavirus (COVID-19) has adversely impacted the health of every population. As COVID-19 moved to the forefront in early 2020, the effect it would have on the athletic training profession came to light. Two members of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery – Sports Medicine Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA – Jim Zachazewski, ATC, PT, DPT, and Michael Belanger, ATC, PT, clinical supervisor of athletic training – walked out of a meeting with other Athletic Trainers (ATs) and clinical hospital staff in late February 2020 realizing that control of infectious disease needed to be addressed head-on within the athletic training setting and they set out to tackle the challenge. Close contact within the shared space of any athletic training facility poses a high risk of COVID-19 infection spread on many levels. Though not infection control experts themselves, Belanger and Zachazewski knew ATs nationwide needed defined policies, programs, education and transition to handle pandemic preparedness in interscholastic and intercollegiate settings. They saw an immediate need as well as a long-term goal that would positively impact the care ATs ultimately provide. It was clear to them that controlling infections had to be a shared responsibility of all – the ATs, the full sports medicine team, all athletes and school administration. Belanger and Zachazewski searched for supplemental resources through the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) and other allied organizations. They discovered that documents related to influenza-type/respiratory illness infection control did not exist for ATs – only ones focused on skin-related infections. So, using the Brigham and Women’s Hospital infection control policy document from their employer as a starting point, they added wording related to the athletic training setting as well as justifications for changes needed. Issues addressed included: • Hand hygiene and common materials – curtail infection spread through procedures and availability of common materials outside of the training room to minimize traffic • Athletic training facility physical space and equipment cleaning – maintain proper cleaning of hard surfaces, medical kits and equipment, including minimizing storage of supplies and gear within the training area • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – maintain availability of necessary PPE for ATs, as well as proper disposal procedures Belanger and Zachazewski determined how the rewritten policies and procedures should be adapted to the athletic training environment. They saw that a professional, cultural and institutional transition needed to occur in the traditional athletic training setting in order to protect patients from infection. “COVID-19 has shown a light on what this (athletic training) facility should look like going forward,” said Zachazewski. “The pandemic demonstrated what we needed to do as a profession in both education and practice. As health care professionals ATs are being pushed to step up our game and really look at The Athletic Training Facility Shifts Focus Toward Infection Control Jim Zachazewski ATC, PT, DPT Michael Belanger ATC, PT 8 BOCATC.ORG | WINTER 2020how we practice in what is really an ambulatory health care setting. This is a springboard for ATs to demonstrate how we practice at a high level as health care professionals.” Once the infection control policies were written and procedures mapped out, the next step was to share their document with the athletic training community. It was posted on NATA’s DEN forum at GATHER.nata.org/home. After posting on April 27, 2020, the response was overwhelming indicating this was a much-needed resource. “We saw that there was definitely a need for this during the pandemic,” said Belanger. “This is not a time to protect this information. It’s a time to share our resources – helping health care professionals and student-athletes.” In addition to sharing the document, it was promoted through educational platforms, including a webinar “Infection Control Considerations in Interscholastic and Intercollegiate Health Care Sites Post COVID-19” held at the 2020 VNATA conference on Aug. 6, 2020. The BOC’s existing “BOC Facility Principles” document and online tool which helps athletic training facilities ensure safe, effective operation and compliance, was updated to include practices from Zachazewski and Belanger’s document, as well as Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) recommended practices. Additionally, the “BOC Guiding Principles for AT Policy and Procedures” document and online tool, which guides the development of policies and procedures, was updated adding the new infection control sample policy. After working with Zachazewski and Belanger in their initial research phase, Murphy Grant MS, ATC, CES, PES, senior associate athletic director/health care administrator with Wake Forest University Athletics in Winston-Salem, North Carolina put together a proposal for the NATA regarding pandemic preparedness. A two-part survey was implemented to gauge employee/AT feelings regarding workplace safety and preparedness. To foster ongoing policy progress, NATA assembled a workgroup focused on infectious disease control preparedness. Grant was named as chair, supported by Zachazewski and Belanger and several other notable experts within the athletic training and health care communities. “I am working with an impressive group of individuals dealing with this topic,” said Grant. “We have members with boots on the ground, some doing patient care, and all have a strong understanding of infection control. We’re all looking at how we can protect employees in these spaces and keep student-athletes safe.” The NATA workgroup is focusing on four areas: 1. Facility Standards 2. Equipment Cleaning 3. Prevention/Minimizing Spread 4. Patient/Athlete Care According to Grant, the goal of the NATA workgroup is to develop tangible resources for ATs, furthering the work started by Zachazewski and Belanger, and supported by athletic training and health care experts. A long-term goal to integrate formal education for ATs around infection control is being addressed, as well. “We’re focused on putting together written documents that are easily read and shared amongst all levels of sport to meet immediate needs and grow to meet future use,” said Grant. “We are working to develop infection control policy resources and education for everyone in our industry long-term.” Murphy Grant MS, ATC, CES, PES WINTER 2020 | BOCATC.ORG9 Next >