I recently treated a patient in my office for a concussion. Well, she didn’t really have a concussion, she just hit the floor at the volleyball game with her head. She didn’t have any symptoms. She denied nausea, or vomiting, or in fact, even a headache.

But someone thought she had a concussion because she hit her head. Of course, she denied the accusation and that only made things worse. Now, even her personal physician couldn’t save her bacon. 

After she saw me in the office and received her medical clearance, she still had to be evaluated by the team trainer. God forbid we allow someone who went to medical school to give their professional opinion. Not when each team has its own certified trainer on staff.

With the trainer, she had to complete the official cheat sheet that listed two whole pages of symptoms, tests, and feelings that were long enough to merit a salary paid for by–you guessed it, you and me as tax payers.

Who knows better than your school nurse or trainer? Why did I waste my time going to medical school when I could have just taken an athletic trainer course?