Apr 8, 2016NC Tables Bill on Licensing
North Carolina legislators have chosen to hold off on voting on a bill that would end the requirements for licensing in several professions, including athletic trainers, according to WNCT. Katie Flanagan, Director of Athletic Training at East Carolina University, argues that it would be unwise to waive the requirements.
“For me to call myself an athletic trainer in the state of North Carolina, it means I have a standard that I have met, and I’ve been vetted and I’m clear,” Flanagan said. “So that’s good. If you take that away, anybody could step in and do that.”
Dan Duffy, a representative from the North Carolina Athletic Trainers Association, told The News & Observer that regulation is essential for ensuring competence in athletic trainers.
“We’re providing emergency care,” Duffy said. “It does regulate so that unqualified persons are unable to provide those services.”
Some critics of current licensing procedures, such as the George Mason University Mercatus Center, allege that the licensing requirements serve as barriers to employment, particularly for low-income workers.
“This is pure cronyism,” Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the center, said. “It’s the government picking winners and losers. These laws come about because people in the profession want protection from new competition.”
