Money, Money, Money!!!!

The SWATA Scholarship Committee awarded nearly $10,000 to members last year!

Members currently enrolled in Undergraduate or Graduate programs for athletic training or even Professionals that are obtaining a Graduate or Post-Graduate degree may qualify for free money for school.

The Scholarship Application process is now 100% electronic with no need to print, mail or fax any documents to complete your application.

The SWATA Scholarship Committee is pleased to serve our student population by evaluating scholarship applicants each year and awarding members with cash scholarships to assist with educational costs. Let’s face it, school is expensive and hardworking student athletic trainers deserve a little help.

In 2013, 1 professional graduate, 3 graduate and 11 undergraduate scholarship winners were announced at the SWATA business meeting in Houston. Each winner was issued a check for $650 to use for their athletic training education thanks to the support of our generous sponsors. Your SWATA scholarship committee has been hard at work this year to make the application process easier and cheaper for you.

So now you may be wondering “How do I apply?”  Click here for more details and visit the SWATA website to start the process and be a winner in 2014! The deadline for all application materials is April 1, 2014. If you have any questions, please contact Paul Dunham, Scholarship Committee Chair.

Written by:

Paul Dunham, MS, ATC, LAT

SWATA Scholarship Committee Chair

The SWATA Scholarship Committee Members are Amii Johnson, Gene Kirkpatrick, Mark Knoblaunch, Gene McKinley, Jim Rapp, Chris Shaddock, and Daniel Young

PR Tips of the Week

 TIP #9

Now that you have participated in #NATM2014, don't forget to enter the SWATA PR Contest for a chance to win a free registration to the SWATA Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia this July in Frisco, Texas!!!  Be sure to check out the rules for the contest.  The deadline to enter is April 15th.  





TIP #8

TIP #7

TIP # 6

Tomorrow begins 31 days of highlighting athletic trainers and the athletic training profession!  You can easily be part of the celebration by participating in the following ways:

• Change your social media pictures:
• Profile picture as the NATM logo.
• Facebook cover photo.
• Twitter header image.

• Update your email signature line with a simple statement:  
• March is National Athletic Training Month! 

• Participate in social media contests and the 6 Word Declaration opportunity! 

• Send an NATM e-card to friends, family, other athletic trainers and stakeholders! 

It really is that easy!!!

TIP #5

Connecting with the media can have a immeasurable impact on the recognition of athletic trainers.  Did you know that through the efforts of the NATA PR department, over 30,032,077 total audience was reached just in November and December of 2013?  With the recent change in the AP Stylebook regarding proper terminology (which resulted from a decade of effort by the NATA), the media should not be using the term 'trainer' but rather 'athletic trainer':  

Athletic trainers: Health care professionals who are licensed or otherwise regulated to work with athletes and physically active people to prevent, diagnose and treat injuries and other emergency, acute and chronic medical conditions including cardiac abnormalities and heat stroke. Specify where necessary to distinguish from personal trainers, who focus primarily on fitness.

Although the NATA is a large organization and has made a huge impact on behalf of athletic trainers, you may ask yourself, "So, what can you do, and would it matter?"  The answer is:

THERE IS PLENTY FOR YOU TO DO AND YES IT MATTERS!!! 

Follow these 3 simple steps to make a huge difference in your community today:

1.  Obtain the contact information of 1 person for your local newspaper, TV news station, and radio station. 

• It may be easy enough for you to go to the website of your local media and find a contact there.
• If you are not sure of where to start, go to www.usnpl.com and start at the top, pick the source of media that you would like (choose from newspaper, TV stations, radio stations, college news outlets, etc).  You can then choose the state and then the city that you are interested in contacting.  

2.  Prepare a news release announcing National Athletic Training Month.

• Find a sample news release regarding National Athletic Training Month at the NATA NATM webpage.  

• A blank press release with instructions can be found at HERE.  This is useful if you would like to design your own press release, highlighting any events or efforts that you or your organization is doing to promote National Athletic Training Month.  

3.  Send the news release to the media contacts that you obtained.  It is that easy!!!

Please consider joining in on celebrating National Athletic Training Month! 

TIP#4

TIP #3

SWATA Public Relations tip of the week #3! Gear up for#NATM2014 with this great tip! Be sure to stay connected with all SWATA social media. This is one way for you to stay informed about the profession, current injury trends, hot topics in the news, etc. Staying connected is one way that you can be prepared when your stakeholders come to you for advice, questions and concerns.

TIP #2

TIP #1

For more information and a perspective from your Governmental Affairs Committee Chair, visit: http://swatablogger.blogspot.com/

Using National Athletic Training Month in the Most Effective Ways

National Athletic Training Month (NATM) is our chance to shine!  However, too many times, NATM efforts are misguided and sometimes we end up promoting the profession to other athletic trainers, instead of to our stakeholders.  Stakeholders can include:

• those that make decisions for and about athletic trainers (bosses, administrators, etc.)  
• patients of athletic trainers, 
• the parents/caretakers of the patient
• taxpayers,
• media,
• co-workers

LET SWATA DO THE WORK FOR YOU!!!

The SWATA PR Committee has developed ways for you to step back and allow your stakeholders to highlight you and your profession.  Our newest opportunity can be found by going to the member's only side of the SWATA website and filling out the NATM Letter to Stakeholders.  Allow SWATA to send your stakeholders a letter that announces NATM and who you are and what you do!  Simply fill out the short form and we will do the rest!  

You can also find other ways to get your stakeholders involved by viewing the NATA and SWATA NATM Resource pages.  Here you will find contests, opportunities and resources for NATM.  The SWATA page features the SWATA PR Idea Book.  These ideas are categorized by setting, no cost/cost involved, no time/time involved and also potential impact.  Check it out and get involved today!!!  Remember to enter the NATA and SWATA contests for free stuff!!!

Written by:

Jamie Woodall

District 6 PR Chair

Investing in the Future - Be a Mentor

Mentorship among athletic trainers is a key social skill that allows our profession to expand our boundaries past traditional school rivalries and lines to help each other grow.   

It is no secret that the profession is expanding exponentially.  In fact, according to Vocationary.com in 2013, the profession is growing faster than the average, projected to grow a whopping 38% between 2008 to 2018.  Even the Bureau of labor statistics slated us to grow at a rate of 30% between 2010-2020, and that was in 2012.  It also goes without saying that the secondary school setting is growing as well. Universities seem to be turning out young professionals at a high rate of speed.  There is a need now, more than ever, for those of us “seasoned” professionals to stand up and take the lead.  We have a chance to make this field better than it’s ever been but we can only do that if we band together and lend a helping hand to the new comers.  So many young professionals check out of the profession prematurely because it can be overwhelming at times. We know, all too well, the stresses that come from working in the field and we need to lean on each other from time to time to get through it.  I would bet that the majority of the “Hall of Famers” can make a list of the people who supported them every step of the way.  And now, we need to do the same.   

It’s not uncommon in the secondary school setting to be on your own. It is a highly rewarding and unique setting with a unique set of challenges.  This is one area where you may have a coworker in larger districts or you may not in the smaller ones.  I challenge you to take the time to reach out to another athletic trainer new to your area or the profession and ask them how you can help to build their network.  Take them to lunch and introduce them to area doctors, make them aware of injury clinics, CEU opportunities, places to purchase equipment and supplies, and make sure they have your phone number in case they have any questions.  You might even follow up once a month with a phone call or email. Remember your first year out, especially if you were by yourself.  Anything you can do to encourage the young professional in a secondary school setting is invaluable.  I know, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink, likewise, there may be someone who is not receptive to help and that’s ok…it’s still our job to lead them there.

Please post comments with ways that you have mentored or have been mentored that proved helpful.  

This blog entry was provided by:  

Kembra Mathis M.Ed. ATC, Athletic Trainer; Bentonville High School and Rick Redden, Athletic Trainer; Saginaw High School