Health Care Providers:
What licensed health care providers can provide clearance for an athlete to return to play in the same contest in which he/she was removed for a possible head injury?
- Physicians licensed to practice medicine in all its branches in Illinois (MD/DO)
- Certified Athletic Trainers (ATC)
- Advanced Practice Nurses (APN)
- Physician Assistants (PA)
In the event one of the above designated health care providers is not able to clear an athlete to return to play in the contest he/she was removed for a possible head injury, the student-athlete can NOT return to play in that contest and becomes subject to the school’s Return to Play (RTP) and Return to Learn (RTL) Policies.
Additionally, the health care providers listed above are the only ones who can provide the necessary written clearance for students to enter a school’s RTP and RTL Policies either:
a. following a concussion; or,
b. following a contest in which a student was removed with a possible head injury and couldn’t return to that same contest.
Licensed IHSA Officials are encouraged to verify before interscholastic athletic contests if any of the afore-mentioned health care providers who have been approved by a member school will be present during a contest to evaluate students from that school removed with a possible head injury.
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