Athletic Trainers for High School Athletes

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) encourages schools that provide an interscholastic sports program to create policies that enhance the well-being of their student athletes including:

• Emergency action planning
• The ready accessibility of automated external defibrillators to all athletic venues
• Training of coaches in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and concussion recognition
• The utilization of board-certified athletic trainers as part of the athletic care team

The AAFP recommends state boards of education and departments of health work with the schools providing interscholastic sports programs to develop these policies and mechanisms for their implementation. (1989) (September 2024 COD)