Prompt #2: Defining Ethics

By Emily Goltz

Hi everyone! In this post, we will be talking about ethics and how our ethics reflect the ethics of kinesiology. I couldn't find the code of ethics on the government kinesiology website but I did find them on the National Athletic Training Association (NATA) website. Athletic training is my focus so I felt that this was acceptable to go off of.

The first code of ethics is " Members shall practice with compassion, respecting the rights, welfare, and dignity of others." (NATA.org, code of ethics) This shows us that consent and making sure the other persons comfortable and okay with what is going on around them and to them. Likewise to my ethics, I believe it is very important to treat others with respect and have sympathy in times when sympathy is acceptable. Especially with a field like athletic training, people's personal space gets violated often but it is up to the athletic trainer to make sure that they are not crossing any boundaries without permission. I do not like to get in other people's personal business when it is no brought up to me so I believe my ethics are very similar because I believe in the power of consent and the ability to say no when it is needed.

"Members shall comply with the laws and regulations governing the practice of Athletic Training, National Athletic Trainer's Association (NATA) membership standards, and the NATA code of ethics." NATA.org, code of ethics) This shows that athletic trainers cannot and should not do anything outside of their domain of practice. It is illegal to go beyond the legal limits of the athletic trainers power. They can not act like a doctor and prescribe anything or give a definite diagnosis on major injuries. My ethics are similar in the fact that I believe that certain people should not act higher up in society as they are. Normal people on the sidewalks are not trained and do not have the same authority as police officers. I do believe that everybody has a right to speak their opinion but when it comes to the law, let the government officials call the shots.


"Members shall maintain and promote high standards in their provision of services." (NATA.org, code of ethics) Some of the domains of athletic training is the ability to communicate, provide immediate care, have the best interest of their athlete in mind and have to want to continue to be educated. To be an athletic trainer, you need to constantly be putting others first and learning new information. I believe that you need to be able to continue growing in your career whether it be position wise or just the want to continue to learn and improve. 


Reference: http://www.nata.org/membership/about-membership/member-resources/code-of-ethics