Obtaining a License to Practice as an Athletic Trainer in Virginia

The table below contains a comparison of provisional authorization, provisional licensure, and licensure.

License Type and Who Needs It	Term	ATC Supervision Required?	Time for BOM to Process	Required Paperwork
Provisional License [Non-ATC, eligible for NATABOC exam]	1 year	Yes	3-5 business days	Proof of professional education Proof of approval to take NATABOC exam Completed BOM licensure application $130 Licensing Fee
Provisional Authorization [Non-BOM-licensed ATC]	45 days	No	3-5 business days	NATABOC certification verification Completed BOM licensure application Letter of request from applicant Letter of request from employer No additional fee#
Licensure [ATCs practicing in Virginia]	2 years	N/A	3-5 business days*	Completed BOM licensure application NATABOC certification verification Proof of professional education Claims History Jurisdiction Clearance Activity Questionnaire $130 licensing fee

*Once all paperwork has been submitted. Typically the process of gathering this paperwork takes from 4-6 weeks. Hence the need for the provisional authorization.

# No additional charge to obtain a letter of provisional authorization. However, completed BOM application must be accompanied by $130 licensing fee.

The following is a report from Dave Pawlowski, Chair of the Legislative Committee, on the legislative changes made by the General Assembly during the 2005 session.

VATA endorsed the Board of Medicine Legislative Committee decision from last year to implement the recommendation that Licensed Athletic Trainers be able to possess and administer epinephrine and topical steroids. The Board of Medicine asked Del. John O'Bannon to introduce HB 2526 which adds the following new language in the Drug Control Act in the Virginia law:

"Pursuant to an oral or written order or standing protocol issued by the prescriber within the course of his professional practice, such prescriber may authorize licensed athletic trainers to possess and administer topical corticosteroids, topical lidocaine, or other Schedule VI topical drugs, or to possess and administer epinephrine for use in emergency cases of anaphylactic shock."

The bill also includes language to allow out-of-state health care practitioners visiting with an athletic team to perform their duties on a temporary basis without being licensed in Virginia. This simply clarifies that any doctor, nurse, athletic trainer or physical therapist who is in good standing in their home state may provide care to their athletes during the time they are in Virginia.

Since the bill was introduced at the request of the Board of Medicine, the Director of the Department of Health Professions spoke in favor of the bill and was able to answer questions and give the background for why it was needed. Making the Board of Medicine the lead agency in favor of the bill allowed VATA to make HB 2526 a patient safety issue rather than a scope of practice expansion. There was no opposition to the bill.

Fortunately, none of the legislators had any concerns about the legislation and the bill passed easily. The House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee and the Senate Education and Health Committee passed the bill unanimously. Both the House and Senate also passed the bill unanimously and it now awaits the Governor's signature.

On a related note, HB 1743 was introduced by Del. Jeion Ward (D, Hampton) to allow all students to possess their own prescribed epinephrine. The bill adds auto-injectable epinephrine to all the Code sections that apply to asthma medications. The bill provides that school and health department personnel supervising the administration of this medication are immune from civil liability. In addition, principals and school board employees are not liable for any civil damages for any injuries or deaths resulting from the misuse of auto-injectable epinephrine.

Athletic Eligibility

Several bills were introduced to affect interscholastic athletic eligibility. HB 2832 introduced by Del. Bob Marshall (R, Prince William) authorizes the Virginia High School League to establish rules requiring that, upon disclosure, a public school student athlete who uses anabolic steroids during the training period immediately preceding or during the sport season be ineligible to participate in athletic competition for two years. This does not apply if the steroid was prescribed by a licensed physician for a medical condition.

The bill also requires that any teacher or school administrator must report the steroid use. Any person who "who knowingly and willfully with the intent to compromise the outcome of an athletic competition procures, sells, or administers anabolic steroids or causes these drugs to be procured, sold, or administered to students, or by failing to report student use of anabolic steroids" will have their and their administrative or teaching license suspended or revoked.

HB 2832 does not directly apply to ATCs, but could certainly affect an ATC who is asked to participate in drug testing or evaluation. VHSL will create regulations that specifically address the procedures to determine if the students are taking steroids, and VATA should monitor the VHSL activities as they make their regulations to comply with this bill.

HB 1731 by Del. John Cosgrove (R, Chesapeake) and HB 2297 by Del. William Fralin (R, Roanoke) were introduced to allow private and home schooled students to participate in public school athletics. HB 1731 was introduced to allow private school students to participate, but Del. Cosgrove pulled his bill after the private school community expressed their opposition to the bill. HB 2297 was introduced to allow home schooled students to participate in public school athletics, but that measure failed in the Education Committee because of opposition by VHSL.