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EMERGENCY RESPONSE FOR THE ATHLETE

Course Information

Cogent Steps, LLC is an NATABOC Approved Provider, and an AASPT Preferred Provider offering the Emergency Response for the Athlete course (ERA). This course has been deliberately designed and tailored for physical therapists and athletic trainers, nurses and physicians who want specialized training in sideline and venue emergency management of the athlete. The ERA is a leap forward in quality and value for students and hosts.

Cogent Steps, LLC’s ERA course was first approved on July 24, 2018 as satisfying the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS) Acute Management of Injury & Illness requirement for applicants for Sports Clinical Specialist.

Core skills include primary and secondary assessment, ethics and legal review, care of the athlete through the age spectrum, athletes in adaptive sports, dermatology, medical and traumatic emergencies, and EMS operations. Additional enrichment modules include asthma, anaphylaxis, pulse oximetry, and care of the spine injured athlete.

The ERA course is delivered as a hybrid course with up-front, online narrated presentations and test, followed by a two-day, in-person course at a host site, all for a single registration fee. Upon successful completion of the ERA, the participant is granted a three-year ERA certification and 20 CCU for PTs.

Both the ERA Online Training Module and ERA On-Site Two-Day Intensive Training Session MUST be completed within a 6-month period of time. Failure to do so will result in not earning your certificate and having to start the course over from the beginning.

Approximately two weeks prior to the course, you will receive an email from the lead instructor or a staff member of Cogent Steps, LLC informing you of details of the course including exact location, parking and any specifics of the location. We rely on our generous hosts including clinicians and clinics for support for our course locations.

All courses typically run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. On that last day, the course may finish slightly earlier than 5 pm, depending upon the order of rotation for practicals. If you have travel concerns, please let the lead instructor know ahead of time and accommodations can be coordinated.

While we coordinate with our hosts, on a rare occasion a situation may arise where a course needs to be cancelled or postponed due to administrative or registration issues, or as a result of emergency situations. We make every attempt to decide if this is necessary at least 14 days prior to the first day of the course. We recommend purchasing refundable tickets and hotel rooms and/or travel insurance in case a cancellation or postponement occurs. Students are welcome to transfer between courses if a conflict arises.

You will receive your completion certificate via email after you have completed the course and post-course survey. Your certificate is good for 3 years from your on-site ERA course training date.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to the most commonly received questions from students.

The benefits of the ERA course include:

  • One payment for online material, testing, and course registration
  • Self-paced online chapters for immediate use
  • Electronic test online for rapid completion of student preparation
  • 2-day vs 3-day in-person intensive course
  • Sport-specific topics to coincide with the Description of Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Sports Specialist
  • CPR/AED training available as an elective in each course

FOR PTs:

REMEMBER: Per ABPTS and the Sports Specialty Council, you must keep your Acute Management of Injury and Illness ( satisfied by the ERA) current during the 10 years of certification. Throughout the Maintenance Of Specialty Certification cycle you will need to able to show proof of satisfying this requirement.

The Emergency Response for the Athlete course is good for 3 years. To be eligible for the ERA Recertification course, you must begin the course while your ERA certification is current. There is no grace period offered if the ERA certification lapses.

The ERA is accredited for 20 CCU for PTs.

FOR ATs:

Cogent Steps BOC Approved Provider number is P10170.

BOC has accredited the ERA for 17 hours Category A, consisting of home study 5.5 hours, and live instruction 11.5 hours.