| The primary purpose of this study was to determine to what extent head coaches in small colleges provided emergency medical care to injured athletes under their supervision. The secondary purpose of this study was to learn what types of sports medicine and sport law background small college head coaches had and would like to have. The third purpose was to describe the confidence level of small college head coaches in caring for student-athletes with medical emergencies. A survey instrument was developed by the writer and sent to 96 small college head coaches from 10 NCAA Division III schools and 6 NAIA Division II schools. The response rate was 64.5% with 62 of the 96 coaches responding.; Results of the study indicate that 97% of the coaches never or seldom provided emergency medical care to their athletes. However, over half (51.6%) reported that, at some time during the athletic season, they were the only ones available to provide emergency medical care to their athletes had there been an injury.; Head coaches in small colleges have minimal background in sport medicine education and training. The coaches averaged 105 contact hours of training in prevention and care of athletic injuries, first-aid, and CPR accumulated over an average of 16 years of coaching experience. Two thirds of the coaches had no current certification in CPR or first-aid. The coaches also reported minimal background in sport law with an average of 26 contact hours of such education over their careers.; The perceived confidence level for head coaches in regard to specific medical emergencies was highest for joint injuries, asthma, bone fractures, heart failure, and shock. The coaches' confidence levels were lowest in dealing with internal bleeding, abdominal injuries, drug reactions, diabetic coma, and neck injuries.; Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that college athletic administrators require that their coaches have current certification in first-aid and CPR and receive additional training in proper handling of critical medical situations. A key element of that training ought to be injury risk management focused on both medical and legal aspects of athletic injuries. |
