April 18, 2008

New Faculty Added to Athletic Training Education Program

by: Donn Walker
314.977.8015
mailto:dwalke18@slu.edu

ST. LOUIS - Mike E. Cannon, M.D., assistant professor of community and family medicine at Saint Louis University and a SLUCare physician, has been appointed medical director for SLU's new athletic training education program. In addition, Darcy L. Downey, an instructor of kinesiology and athletic training at the University of Texas at Austin, has been appointed clinical coordinator of athletic training education at Saint Louis University.

"We're very fortunate to welcome these two talented professionals into the athletic training education program," said Tony Breitbach, assistant professor and director of athletic training education at SLU. "Dr. Cannon brings with him a wealth of professional experience and a strong dedication to teaching. And Darcy's energy, passion and broad variety of experiences will be a major asset to the program and to our students."

The new athletic training education program - part of the Doisy College of Health Sciences - will enroll its first students in fall 2008.

Students who begin as freshmen will spend their first three years completing required liberal arts and science prerequisites. They'll also take part in Doisy College's interprofessional education initiative - a series of classes in which Doisy students learn about a broad variety of health careers and issues.

If in good standing after the first three years, students will then move into the final two-year professional phase of the athletic training program, studying human anatomy and kinesiology, clinical sciences, and the principles of athletic training in depth. Students will receive a bachelor's degree in exercise science at the end of the fourth year, and a master's degree in athletic training at the end of year five.














Dr. Mike Cannon

Cannon, whose appointment is effective immediately, will oversee medical aspects of the new athletic training education program, including medical content within the curriculum.
"SLU's new athletic training education program is a unique, seamless combination of an undergraduate degree in exercise science and a master's degree in athletic training," Cannon said. "That curriculum design, combined with Doisy College's interprofessional education initiative, sets this program apart from other athletic training programs."















Darcy Downey (courtesy of University of Texas)

Downey, who will begin her new role at SLU in July, will teach in the athletic training education program and serve as its clinical coordinator, overseeing the field experiences in which students work at various clinics and athletic training facilities in the St. Louis region.
She has been an instructor at the University of Texas since 2003. In addition, she has served as the athletic trainer for the university's women's rowing program since 2005.

Previously, she was an instructor and athletic trainer at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. She also worked at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where she served as an athletic trainer for the Cleveland Rockers of the Women's National Basketball Association.

Long a leader in educating health professionals, Saint Louis University offered its first degree in an allied health profession in 1929. Today the Doisy College of Health Sciences offers degrees in physical therapy, athletic training, clinical laboratory science, nutrition and dietetics, health informatics and information management, medical imaging and radiation therapeutics, occupational science and occupational therapy, and physician assistant education. The college's unique curriculum prepares students to work with health professionals from all disciplines to ensure the best possible patient care.

LINKS:
Darcy Downey's bio at the University of Texas: http://www.edb.utexas.edu/atep/downeypage.htm

Dr. Cannon's bio at SLUCare:
http://www.slucare.edu/index.php?page=discoversearch&action=display&id=1

Original article link:
http://www.slu.edu/x22429.xml

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