Athletic trainers commonly pick-up additional (“per diem”) work at events like sports camps, tournaments, and competitions to either supplement their income during their main employers off-seasons, or just as an additional source of income.

And with the unique schedule athletic trainers have, why wouldn’t anyone turn to per diem work as a great and fun way to generate additional revenue?

“I think there is a lot of great opportunity in per diem work,” said Alisha Pennington, MS, ATC, owner of ATvantage Athletic Training. “We see a lot of our emerging practices start as per diem work with the local dance center or cheer team or rodeo. There is, I think, a burgeoning opportunity for people who are willing to take on the liability and legalities.”

To help athletic trainers learn how to avoid some common pitfalls of per diem work, we’ve outlined the top ways to avoid common pitfalls of per diem work below.

Independent Contractor-Employer Relationship

“There is a misconception is that [per diem work] is the same as working for an employer, and that’s not necessarily something specific to our industry,” Pennington said. “That’s a general misunderstanding for people who aren’t educated about it because the majority of the relationships we are involved in professionally are employee-employer relationships. … [Independent contractor] is a whole other type of classification of work type according to the federal government and there is quite a bit that goes into it.”

Independent contractors aren’t “controlled” the way traditional employees are, Pennington said, adding that an employer can’t dictate how an independent contractor does their work or the means by which they produce their work as they don’t need on-the-job training.

“We show up and can do the job with our educational background and continuing education,” she said.

Understand Your Tax Responsibility

“In the employee-employer relationship, we’re used to receiving a paycheck that already has deductions taken from it, that are paid to the federal and state government on our behalf,” Pennington said. “As an independent contractor, you are fully responsible for all of those taxes.”

Independent contractors are responsible for all of their taxes, meaning that after they receive their full check, it’s their responsibility to claim that income when they file their taxes.

“This was one that bit me pretty hard as a newly graduated young professional, not realizing that as an independent contractor, you have to pay all that back when tax reporting comes around – so be prepared for that,” said YPC member Amy Hand, MA, SCAT, ATC.

Get It In Writing

It’s common to arrange per diem gigs verbally over the phone or in-person, however, without a written contract, there is no real way to protect one’s self if they don’t get paid or things don’t go according to plan.

“Ideally, you’d have a written contract, but at a minimum, even if you follow up in an email with bullet points of what was discussed over the phone, you’ll have something in writing to protect yourself,” Pennington said.

Liability Insurance Coverage

“We’re always encouraged to have our own professional liability insurance, but a lot of younger athletic trainers don’t understand when organizational professional liability insurance covers them and when it doesn’t,” Hand said. “There is the possibility that if they don’t have their own professional liability insurance, that they would not be covered when accepting those per diem jobs.”

When athletic trainers find per diem gigs, it typically means that they will be working as an independent contractor. When working as an independent contractor, athletic trainers assume full liability for the care they provide which could result bearing the full burden of a malpractice or negligence suit if ATs don’t have their own professional liability insurance.