The BOC Exam...

In order to be licensed as an Athletic Trainer, you have to take the Board of Certification exam. It is a very rigorous exam, or so I'm told. In order to be eligible to take the exam you have to meet the following requirements:

• Endorsement of the exam application by the recognized Program Director of the CAATE (Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education) accredited education program

• Proof of current certification in Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) or proof of enrollment in an approved ECC course

A sample exam question would be like this:

Which modality would BEST control pain in a two-day-old Grade I (mild) lateral ankle sprain in a 25-year-old male with Raynaud’s phenomenon? Choose only one.

Continuous 3 MHz ultrasound

Electrical stimulation - biphasic continuous current

Ice massage

Paraffin bath

Warm whirlpool (100 degrees Fahrenheit/38 degree Celsius)

(Continuous 3 MHz ultrasound should have a bubble by it as well.)

ECC Certification includes:

• Adult and Pediatric CPR
• AED (Automated External Defibrillator)
  
• 2nd rescuer CPR
• Airway obstruction
• Barrier devices (e.g., pocket mask, big valve mask, etc.)

I just got kind of worried. On the 2009-2010 exam, only 38.2 percent of people passed. However, Ithaca College has a 97 percent pass rate, so that makes me feel a little better.

I found all of this information at http://www.bocatc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=8