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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 Responder - Sport Certification
AQuire (hybrid education with online lectures and in person lab) - Emergency Medical Response for the Athlete (ERA)
Cogent Steps (virtual options available for 2023 examinees) - Emergency Medical Response for Acute Athletic Injury and Illness
IAMT - Emergency Medical Response Class for the Sports Physical Therapist Physical Therapy Services of Tennessee (virtual option available for 2022 examinees; contact Justin Smith at 423-543-0073 or justinsmithdptrn@hotmail.com)
- 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
Hybrid model available for 2023 examinees - 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. - Elite Sports Emergency Care Training
Sports Medicine Concepts - Tactical Combat Casualty Care
National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
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)
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
- Protective Sports Equipment and Proper Fitting
- Emergency Management of Athletes with Spine and Visceral Injuries
- Environmental Considerations for the Athlete
- Emergency Management of Musculoskeletal Injuries
- Emergency Management of Soft-Tissue Injuries
- Emergency Management of Cardiovascular Conditions
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 Responder - Sport Certification
AQuire (hybrid education with online lectures and in person lab) - Emergency Medical Response Course
University of Delaware - Emergency Medical Response for Acute Athletic Injury and Illness
IAMT - Emergency Medical Response Course for the Sports Physical Therapist
Physical Therapy Services of Tennessee - Virtual Course; contact Justin Smith at 423-543-0073 or justinsmithdptrn@hotmail.com - Emergency Medical Responder Course
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 for the Athlete (ERA)
Cogent Steps (virtual options available) - Elite Sports Emergency Care Training
Sports Medicine Concepts - Tactical Combat Casualty Care
NAEMT - Immediate and Emergency Care Online Courses
Dr. Whetstone / Medbridge
Candidates must complete all 6 of the below Medbridge courses to satisfy the requirement:
- Protective Sports Equipment and Proper Fitting
- Emergency Management of Athletes with Spine and Visceral Injuries
- Environmental Considerations for the Athlete
- Emergency Management of Musculoskeletal Injuries
- Emergency Management of Soft-Tissue Injuries
- Emergency Management of Cardiovascular Conditions
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.