Athletic training students (ATS) must understand that ill healthcare workers pose a risk to the patients they treat and interact with. To mitigate this risk, ATS are required to adhere to the following guidelines and annually acknowledge and sign the UNL Athletic Training Program Communicable and Infectious Disease Policy (Appendix E), accessible on Typhon for professional students.
Communicable diseases are transmitted from one person to another or from animals to humans. Healthcare providers may face increased exposure to disease-causing pathogens, typically through direct contact with sick individuals, inhalation of airborne viruses and bacteria, contact with bodily fluids, or interaction with contaminated surfaces.
ATS may encounter such diseases during clinical education rotations or in their daily activities, potentially leading to illness during the semester. All clinical education sites are equipped with facilities for handwashing or hand sanitizer accessible to UNL ATP students.
Common communicable diseases include, but are not limited to:
- Conjunctivitis
- Diphtheria
- Fungal Infections
- Hepatitis
- Herpes Simplex
- Herpes Zoster
- HIV
- Meningococcal Infections
- Mononucleosis
- Mumps
- Pertussis
- Rubella
- Streptococcal Infection
- Tuberculosis
- Varicella
- Viral Infections (Influenza, cold, etc.)
If an ATS becomes ill or infected, the following steps should be taken:
- Seek medical assistance from the student health service, personal physician, or local medical providers.
- If it is determined the ATS has a potentially infectious disease, they may not return to their clinical education assignment until cleared by an appropriate healthcare professional (i.e., physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner).
- Within 12 hours of the diagnosis the ATS must inform their assigned preceptor and the UNL Athletic Training Program Coordinator of Clinical Education.
- Written verification of diagnosis and clearance from the healthcare provider must be provided to the UNL Athletic Training Program Coordinator of Clinical Education before full return to clinical education activities can be resumed.
- If exposed to and potentially infected by a bloodborne pathogen, the ATS must adhere to the UNL Athletic Training Program Bloodborne Pathogen Policy and inform the UNL Athletic Training Program Coordinator of Clinical Education.