What to do?
Early in my career, I worked as an athletic trainer for a company I am not currently with. I was contracted out to a school with a dominant football program. We had two excellent running backs and in week eight of the season one of the running backs fractured his wrist. Five weeks later in the state playoff quarterfinal game, the second running back fractured his wrist during the Friday night game. On Saturday morning the running back saw our team physician and was placed in a splint. It was clear his season was over and it was going to be difficult for our team to win the state semi-final game without him. Prior to these injuries we were the favorite to win the state championship.
All season long the head football coach and athletic director for the school had put a lot of pressure on me to keep student-athletes playing, even when it was questionable or clear the student-athlete should not be participating.
On the following Tuesday afternoon, prior to practice, the schools athletic director and head football coach pulled me aside and told me the mother of the player who had been injured four days prior, wanted her son to play. A doctor had not cleared him but the player would play and if I had a problem with it I should leave immediately. No written permission from the mother was presented and only the word of the school officials was given. The fracture site was at the epiphyseal joint causing a significant risk for further damage if the athlete injured his wrist further. What was I to do? If I left, I was walking out on 60 other student athletes. Many of which I was providing treatment or splinting and/or taping for prevention. Also, if someone was injured after I left, there was not a trained professional present to provide care. If I stayed I could put both myself, and my company in a position of increased liability if I treated a player without proper clearance to return to activity. I had to think quickly and make the right decision.
I told the athletic director and the head coach I did not agree with their decision to allow the student-athlete to compete and questioned the information the mother was receiving. I had spoken with the mother on Saturday after her son had seen the physician and she gave no indication she wanted to see her son play. I further stated that I would not leave the team, but I also could not provide any treatment, such as padding, splinting, taping or a soft cast, to the injured athlete in question. I also informed the athletic director and coach I would discuss further action with my supervisor.
I immediately called my supervisor and informed him of the situation. His immediate reaction was to have me follow my plan and he called our company lawyers to seek clarification. The next morning I met with my supervisor and we decided to draft a letter to the school district superintendent expressing our concern for the student-athlete, the schools liability, and our position that we would not provide care to the concerned party unless it was a new acute situation. We hand delivered the letter that day, Wednesday, to the school district office and also faxed the letter to our lawyers.
The superintendent of schools did not know about the situation until we notified him. He immediately took the case to the school’s lawyers and they then informed the school that the athlete could not play unless cleared by a physician.
The reaction of the head coach was to blame me for the athlete’s inability to play that Friday and the team subsequently lost the state semi-final game that Friday.
Our reaction was to protect the injured student-athlete and also the rest of the team by attempting to work through proper channels. If I had walked out of practice when first confronted, this could have ended very ugly. We did a number of steps correctly. We saw the ethical issues involved and thoughtfully reacted. We properly identified the stakeholders including the entire team. We looked at the possible effect on our organization as well as the school district including the student-athletes. We sought wise counsel from our colleagues, including legal advice. Finally we utilized our key resources, primarily our relationships with the superintendent, to seek a successful solution. This was an excellent learning experience in a very heated environment.
Early in my career, I worked as an athletic trainer for a company I am not currently with. I was contracted out to a school with a dominant football program. We had two excellent running backs and in week eight of the season one of the running backs fractured his wrist. Five weeks later in the state playoff quarterfinal game, the second running back fractured his wrist during the Friday night game. On Saturday morning the running back saw our team physician and was placed in a splint. It was clear his season was over and it was going to be difficult for our team to win the state semi-final game without him. Prior to these injuries we were the favorite to win the state championship.
All season long the head football coach and athletic director for the school had put a lot of pressure on me to keep student-athletes playing, even when it was questionable or clear the student-athlete should not be participating.
On the following Tuesday afternoon, prior to practice, the schools athletic director and head football coach pulled me aside and told me the mother of the player who had been injured four days prior, wanted her son to play. A doctor had not cleared him but the player would play and if I had a problem with it I should leave immediately. No written permission from the mother was presented and only the word of the school officials was given. The fracture site was at the epiphyseal joint causing a significant risk for further damage if the athlete injured his wrist further. What was I to do? If I left, I was walking out on 60 other student athletes. Many of which I was providing treatment or splinting and/or taping for prevention. Also, if someone was injured after I left, there was not a trained professional present to provide care. If I stayed I could put both myself, and my company in a position of increased liability if I treated a player without proper clearance to return to activity. I had to think quickly and make the right decision.
I told the athletic director and the head coach I did not agree with their decision to allow the student-athlete to compete and questioned the information the mother was receiving. I had spoken with the mother on Saturday after her son had seen the physician and she gave no indication she wanted to see her son play. I further stated that I would not leave the team, but I also could not provide any treatment, such as padding, splinting, taping or a soft cast, to the injured athlete in question. I also informed the athletic director and coach I would discuss further action with my supervisor.
I immediately called my supervisor and informed him of the situation. His immediate reaction was to have me follow my plan and he called our company lawyers to seek clarification. The next morning I met with my supervisor and we decided to draft a letter to the school district superintendent expressing our concern for the student-athlete, the schools liability, and our position that we would not provide care to the concerned party unless it was a new acute situation. We hand delivered the letter that day, Wednesday, to the school district office and also faxed the letter to our lawyers.
The superintendent of schools did not know about the situation until we notified him. He immediately took the case to the school’s lawyers and they then informed the school that the athlete could not play unless cleared by a physician.
The reaction of the head coach was to blame me for the athlete’s inability to play that Friday and the team subsequently lost the state semi-final game that Friday.
Our reaction was to protect the injured student-athlete and also the rest of the team by attempting to work through proper channels. If I had walked out of practice when first confronted, this could have ended very ugly. We did a number of steps correctly. We saw the ethical issues involved and thoughtfully reacted. We properly identified the stakeholders including the entire team. We looked at the possible effect on our organization as well as the school district including the student-athletes. We sought wise counsel from our colleagues, including legal advice. Finally we utilized our key resources, primarily our relationships with the superintendent, to seek a successful solution. This was an excellent learning experience in a very heated environment.
posted by Robert | 10:53 PM
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