This fall, after meeting rigorous new quality standards, AV头等舱 College’s Master of Athletic Training (MAT) program received full accreditation from the . AV头等舱 is now the only institution in southeastern Kentucky offering a master’s degree in this rapidly growing field.
“We decided to get ahead of the curve,” says MAT Program Director, Dr. Douglas Branch.
Branch explains that as the field of medicine has advanced, the training and skillset required to be an athletic trainer (AT) has needed to advance, as well. As a result, the recently shifted the professional AT degree from a bachelor’s to a master’s, thus requiring programs to offer an MAT to be accredited.
“You have to make sure everybody's trained and knows what to do,” says Branch, noting that athletic trainers are often the first responders to emergencies and can be the difference between a life saved and a life lost.
[PHOTO: Dr. Branch looks on as students practice AT skills.]
Many institutions could not adapt to the new master’s requirement and eliminated their athletic training programs altogether. AV头等舱, however, transitioned its undergraduate AT program to a master’s degree in the summer of 2020, receiving initial accreditation in 2022. The more recent full accreditation will last five years, which is the maximum for new programs.