The Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP), formerly housed within the Physical Education Department of the College of Arts and Sciences, is now part of the School of Health Technology and Management.   The change became effective in the fall of 2004. Also in the fall of 2004, as a result of the successful completion of its self study and site visit, ATEP received accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Professions (CAAHEP)

Graduates of the program are eligible to take the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification exam. In addition to the Baccalaureate degree, the school’s Certificate of Professional Achievement in Athletic Training is awarded upon satisfactory completion of all required course work.

The ATEP currently consists of four full time faculty members. Kathryn A.  Koshansky, MS, ATC, a 22 year member of the SBU community, is the Program Director, as well as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine within the Athletic Department. Xristos Gaglias, MA, ATC serves as Curriculum Director, while RJ Boergers, MS, ATC, is the Clinical Coordinator.  Jeanine Engelmann, Med, ATC, is the newest faculty member, whose primary responsibilities are classroom and laboratory teaching. The ATEP also has a number of adjunct faculty and clinical instructors who teach and supervise the athletic training students throughout their education.

Working under a physician’s supervision, certified athletic trainers (ATCs) are members of the sports medicine field who specialize in the prevention, evaluation, management, treatment, and rehabilitation of athletic injuries. By providing a continuum of care, the expertise of an ATC covers multiple aspects of healthcare. Certified athletic trainers can be found almost anywhere people are physically active and can work in a variety of settings, including secondary schools, colleges and universities, professional athletic teams, hospitals, the military, private clinics, and industrial and commercial settings.

The student’s professional preparation is directed toward the development of specified competencies in the following domains: risk management and injury prevention, pathology of injuries and illnesses, assessment and evaluation, acute care of injury and illness, pharmacology, therapeutic modalities, therapeutic exercise, general medical conditions and disabilities, nutritional aspects of injury and illness, psychosocial intervention and referral, health care administration, and professional development and responsibilities. In addition, all students are required to fulfill their clinical education requirements during academic semesters under the direct supervision of an approved clinical instructor (ACI). Major emphasis is placed on the development of psychomotor skills in addition to cognitive knowledge. This includes practicum, laboratory, and clinical rotations.

The competency-based approach of the ATEP allows for hands on, real world experience throughout the student’s professional preparation at Stony Brook University. Students work under the direct supervision of approved clinical instructors and other health care providers to care for a variety of physically active populations at multiple clinical sites. In addition to SBU Athletics and Student Health Services, ATEP has contracts for clinical sites at William Floyd High School/ Mastic Sports Therapy in Mastic Beach, Longwood High School/ Longwood Physical Therapy in Middle Island, Hauppauge High School, Hampton Bays High School, and Sports Therapy in Southampton.

Candidates for the athletic training education program must meet the upper division admission requirements of the School of Health Technology and Management. In addition to the general academic requirements for junior status in the School of Health Technology and Management, the program requires candidates to meet the school’s natural science requirement by successfully completing four credits in biology; four credits in human physiology; eight credits in chemistry; and eight credits in physics. Certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the professional level is required, along with fifty observational hours with a certified athletic trainer is also required for admission. A full listing of courses required within the curriculum can be found through the SHTM webpage at www.hsc.stonybrook.edu/shtm.