How can athletic trainers help people live more healthy, active lives?

Athletic trainers help both athletes and non-athletes recover from injuries and get back in the game, and their services are in high demand. Job opportunities in athletic training have been growing rapidly in recent years, and so too have the places in which athletic trainers work. The University of Maine has long offered a bachelor’s degree in athletic training, and alumni from it have found careers at high schools, major league sports like the National Hockey League, rehabilitation facilities and in other settings. This year, however, UMaine has reincorporated its program as a master’s degree, which prepares students to join the growing allied health profession providing acute care, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation, as well as prevention from injuries and illness. In this week’s episode of “The Maine Question,” Christopher Nightingale, director of UMaine’s Athletic Training program, and other faculty discuss the work athletic trainers do, how the field has evolved and the learning opportunities available through the university’s program.