SLUHN Program Director Named Chairman of National Athletic Training Group

Jim Reidy, who helped found the athletic training residency at St. Luke’s University Health Network, has been named to a national board that oversees fellowships and residencies for athletic trainers.

Reidy, MS, LAT, ATC, the program director of the Athletic Training Residency for St. Luke’s, was selected as Chair of the Residency and Fellowship Accreditation Council (RFAC) earlier this year for the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training (CAATE), based in Washington, D.C.

Reidy has been active with CAATE since 2018 after the St. Luke’s Graduate Medical Education and Sports Medicine departments pursued accreditation for the Athletic Training Residency program in the specialty area of Orthopedics.

Reidy works across multiple committees and is part of the workgroup that oversees education, standards and peer review.

“My experiences have helped me to get a good perspective on the CAATE and its accreditation policies and procedures, including those focused on residency and fellowship growth,” Reidy said. “It has been very rewarding to collaborate with a group of athletic trainers, physicians and others across the country who are innovating and fueling the growth of our profession.”

Reidy pointed out that specialization within athletic training – the way doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners have specialized for decades – is a fairly new concept that developed within the last 15 years. The first set of standards were issued in 2014, and there are only 17 residency programs and one fellowship program nationwide for athletic trainers.

Reidy, who helped St. Luke’s create the ninth residency program in the country back in 2018, helped rewrite the standards for residency programs and fellowships in 2022. His goal is to help create and certify more residency and fellowship programs.

“Although it is a residency focused role, the work we are doing is changing how the profession is being educated both in the professional program and with continuing education for certified ATs. It is going to be huge in the sustainability of our profession. We are expecting 30-40 new programs over the next five years.”