Management of Acute Injury or Illness Approved Courses

To satisfy the Acute Management of Injury and Illness requirement for initial certification, candidates may select one of two pathways of approved courses. Review these courses and requirements.

You may select from Pathway One, "Options That Meet Full Requirement," or from Pathway 2, "Course Combinations That Meet Full Requirement" to meet the minimum requirements for sports physical therapy specialist certification.

(Note: These lists are not exhaustive and do not indicate any preferred listing by the specialty council.)

Pathway Options for Initial Certification

Any one course listed below meet the minimum eligibility requirements as determined by the Sports Specialty Council.

Emergency Medical Response for the Athlete (ERA) – Cogent Steps
Emergency Medical Response Class for the Sports Physical
Therapist - Physical Therapy Services of Tennessee
Emergency Medical Responder – Evidence in Motion
Candidates can select one among Initial Certification, Recertification, or Challenge course to satisfy the requirement.
Emergency Medical Response Course - University of Delaware
Certification as a Certified Athletic Trainer - Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer
This course only satisfies the Acute Management of Injury and Illness requirement for initial board certification and must have been initially achieved in the past 5 years.
Tactical Combat Casualty Care– NAEMT

Explore Other Options / Pathway Two

To satisfy the Acute Management of Injury and Illness requirement, candidates will need to select one course from the EMR Course Requirements listed below
AND
complete all six Medbridge online courses.

EMR In-Person Requirements

Certification or Licensure as an Emergency Medical Technician
Certification or Licensure as a Paramedic
Emergency Medical Responder Courses (choose one)

Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals

Wilderness First Aid with NOLS and REI

AND

Online Courses Offered by Medbridge That Meet the Minimum Requirements

You need to complete all six courses below, along with one of the in-person requirements above to meet the minimum requirements.

Immediate and Emergency Care online courses by Whetstone-Medbridge

Pathway Options for Recertification and Maintenance

The below courses meet the minimum eligibility requirements
as determined by the Sports Specialty Council. You only need to complete one from the list below, except where notated.

Emergency Medical Response Course
University of Delaware

Emergency Medical Responder Course - Challenge
Evidence in Motion
Note: Candidates can select one among Initial Certification, Recertification, or Challenge course to satisfy the requirement from the above course listing.

Emergency Medical Response Course for the Sports Physical Therapist
Physical Therapy Services of Tennessee

Emergency Medical Response for the Athlete (ERA)
Cogent Steps

Tactical Combat Casualty Care
NAEMT

Immediate and Emergency Care Online Courses
Dr. Whetstone / Medbridge
Exception Notation: Must complete all 6 of the below Medbridge courses to satisfy the requirement)

Have a Course That Isn't on the List?

Here's the process and requirements to have your course included in the pathway options.

To have the specialty council evaluate whether a training course meets the minimum eligibility requirements, submit the following information about the course to APTA for review by the Sports Specialty Council:

Course description.
Learning objectives.
Course schedule.
Content outline.
Assessment methods.

Send initial certification requests to spec-cert@apta.org and recertification requests to recert@apta.org.

All courses must meet the approved content outline requirements in order to be considered.

APTA Specialist Certification - Governed by ABPTS