For immediate release: Oct. 11, 2010

BLOOMSBURG — The Clinical Athletic Training program at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania has received initial accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). Since its inception three years ago, the Geisinger Medical Center (GMC) Sports Medicine Department has provided clinical education opportunities for students in BU's athletic training program.

"This accreditation acknowledges Bloomsburg University's commitment to providing the best education for its athletic training students," said Daniel Feldmann, M.D., medical director of BU's program and chief of sports medicine at GMC.

BU's program is an entry-level master's degree program in clinical athletic training that prepares students to function as health care providers in the areas of injury prevention, recognition and treatment. To date, 13 students have either completed or are enrolled in the program.

According to Joseph Hazzard, EDD, assistant professor of exercise science and athletics at BU and coordinator of the athletic training program, accreditation is awarded only after extensive self-study and on-site visits by CAATE.

Accreditation, Dr. Hazzard said, recognizes that the athletic training program at Bloomsburg meets all of the nationally recognized standards for entry-level athletic training education that have been established by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and the National Athletic Trainers' Association Inc.

"We now are listed among 23 programs in the U.S. that are accredited at the entry-level master's level," Dr. Hazzard said. "This accreditation means, first and foremost, that students enrolled in our program have met the requirements to sit for the National Certification Exam, which is possible only through accredited programs."

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 9,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Education, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.