Happy New Year from the SLU Athletic Training Program!

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Lafayette High School

Lafayette High School - Home of the Lancers!

By: Heather Koch (SLU MAT Class of 2014)

Lafayette High School was the location of my very first clinical rotation. Lafayette is a large high school in the Rockwood School district with a wide array of athletic teams. While I was there, I was able to watch the 2nd time state champion volleyball team play. I was on the sidelines of the Final Four playoff game for the football team. I was also present for the annual powder-puff game where the junior and senior girls go head to head in a football game. These were only a few of the unique experiences I had at Lafayette.

SLU AT student Heather Koch and Heather Carroll ATC cover  a softball game at Lafayette HS.

While at Lafayette High School my preceptor was their athletic trainer, Heather Carroll  ATC, who is contracted through PRORehab to work at the high school. Working closely with Heather helped me to grow so much as a student and even more as a future professional. She provided me with opportunities to apply the knowledge I learned in the classroom to a real life situation. This privilege allowed me to learn more than I ever could have in a classroom setting. My skill set at the start of my clinical rotation is drastically different today as I begin at my new clinical site for the second semester. In August, when I began I was only proficient (if that is what you want to call it) at taping ankles. Now, I can confidently say I am able to evaluate a variety of injuries, tape various extremities, provide wound care, and assist in rehab and stretching. In addition to acquiring skills throughout my clinical experience, I also learned a great deal about the profession of Athletic Training and the various aspects of it.

The students were another strong aspect of the experience at my clinical site. My name is also Heather so it was fun for both Heather Carroll and I to notice the student’s (and coaches) reactions when I introduced myself, but at least no one forgot my name. We also had a white board outside of the training room that we began using for a joke of the day. This was just a fun addition to the day for all of us. My experience at Lafayette was one of a kind and I could not be more thankful for the opportunity I had to get to work under such a wonderful athletic trainer, great coaches and athletes, as well as several others I encountered on a weekly basis (athletic director, team doctor, etc.) I am sad to leave, but also so excited to see what is to come. My first clinical site truly prepared me for whatever is next.

               

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Lutheran High School South

Lutheran High School South – Home of the Lancers!

By: Nick Gastorf (SLU MAT Class of 2014) and Mary Finkenkeller (SLU MAT Class of 2013)

For the fall semester, we had our clinical rotation at Lutheran High School South under Nikki Duncan, ATC.  Working with Nikki has been a great experience.  She has been working at South for many years, and is well connected with the community and families at the school.  Everyone who works at the school was very accepting of the two of us, and expressed their gratitude and appreciation for all of our help. 

SLU AT student Nick Gastorf (MAT Class of 2014) taping an athlete's foot at Lutheran South.

South has extensive facilities, which keeps us busy with multiple games and practices happening all at once.  This fall, the football, boys’ soccer, and volleyball teams all made it to playoffs.  The soccer team even made it all the way to state!  It was great to work with such great talent at the high school level. 

We have really enjoyed the experiences that we have had at South.  It has been very different from the Division 1 college experiences that we have had prior to this semester.  We have seen how to give the best care for an athlete on a much smaller budget.  We have also had the opportunity to see what it is like to work with all sports at a school at the same time, rather than focusing on just one.  We are thankful for this great experience, and grateful for the warm welcome that every day at South brings. 

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Student Group Makes Donations to St. Louis Area Children's Hospitals

'Tis the Season for Sharing!

By: Katie Schneebeck (SLU MAT Class of 2013)

Our Christmas philanthropies for the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Society (SLATS), our student association, this year were a huge success! 

We donated over 20 books to "Reach Out and Read" at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center and over 200 items and toys to the Children's Hospital of St. Louis for kids and their parents. Christmas will certainly be filled with a touch of your contributions and kindness! 

Thank you so much to Jimmie Carter at Cardinal Glennon for helping us organize the book drive and Karen Rieker for getting us started with the toy drive at Children's Hospital. 

Great job SLATS! We hope to continue the spirit into the Spring semester.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - John Burroughs High School

John Burroughs High School – Home of the Bombers!

By:  Sarah Reifsteck (SLU MAT Class of 2013) and Dan Herrin (SLU MAT Class of 2014)

We currently have our clinical education practicum at John Burroughs High School in Ladue with their athletic trainer Dean Tiffany ATC. Working with Dean, all the coaches, and their athletes has been nothing but an enjoyable educational experience for us. From day one we were welcomed and treated as vital members of the sports medicine team. The coaches and athletes at John Burroughs are extremely respectable, and we feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to work with them. This fall we worked with football, boys soccer, field hockey, cross country, girls tennis and boys swimming. We even had the opportunity to travel with the boy’s football team all the way to the state championship game at the Edward Jones Dome! This winter we have been working with girls and boys basketball, wrestling, and girls swimming.

John Burroughs Athletic Trainer Dean Tiffany ATC (center) on the field at the Edward Jones Dome before the MSHSAA     State Championship with SLU AT students Sarah Reifsteck (left) and Dan Herrin (right)

The best part about working with Dean is how much we truly get to help out. Dean is a great teacher who is very passionate about the field of athletic training, and we are fortunate to have him as our preceptor. He lets us do as much as our comfort levels allow, and we are very grateful for this. Dean has been the athletic trainer at John Burroughs for 13 years, and you can tell how much his help is appreciated by all the coaches, athletes and their parents. They put their trust in him with their athletes, and everyone benefits greatly from all his hard work. Dean has given us great guidance over this past semester, and his guidance has really helped to shape us into the knowledgeable athletic training students we are today. We only hope to be as trusted and appreciated as Dean is in our futures as certified athletic trainers. 

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Missouri Baptist University

Missouri Baptist University – Home of the Spartans!

By: Hilary Orf (SLU MAT Class of 2013)

  

This year, I get the opportunity to do my clinical practicum at Missouri Baptist University.  MBU is an NAIA college that houses 12 different sports.  The Athletic Training staff is comprised of the head athletic trainer, Meredith Dill ATC, assistant athletic trainers Jamie Herron ATC and Mike Nolan ATC, and Graduate assistants Amy Hampton ATC and Michelle Crocker ATC.  However, due to my commitments as a collegiate athlete at Saint Louis University, I worked primarily with Jamie with the Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams and will be working with Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse in the spring. 

Jamie Herron ATC and SLU AT student Hilary Orf (MAT Class of 2013)  on the sidelines at MBU

This semester has been quite the learning experience.  My day started with the incessant ringing of my alarm clock at 4:10am so that I could be at MBU by 5am to set up for practice.  Practice ran from 6-8, and then it was straight to classes, before attending my own practice in the afternoons.  Thank goodness Jamie and I get along as well as we do!  She’s always open to my nonstop questions.  The entire staff has been more than welcoming to me, especially since I’m the first SLU AT student to be placed at MBU.  This fall I was the only student, but I get 5 AT students who are in their first professional year in the spring and I’m excited to see what’s to come for my last semester as an Athletic Training student!

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Parkway South High School

Parkway South High School – Home of the Patriots!

By: Kelley DeGreeff (SLU MAT Class of 2014)

It seems like yesterday I was nervously walking up to Parkway South High School not having a clue what I was getting myself into. I was the first SLU athletic training student to be placed at the clinical site. Was Dr. Howell crazy for sending me? Would I be a good representative of SLU? Who is Kyle Boyce? However, I learned quickly that I had nothing to worry about. I enjoyed an amazing semester of learning while meeting some awesome people.

SLU AT Student Kelley DeGreeff (MAT Class of 2014) with Kyle Boyce ATC

The first thing I loved about clinical was my site. Parkway South could not have been more welcoming towards me. From day one, the Athletic Director Dr. Eric Wilhelm made me feel like I was a “Patriot” even though they gave me trouble for being a Nerinx Hall grad (Go Markers!). I have a newfound respect for the role of the AD after seeing how hard Eric and Jen Holtmeyer worked day in and day out, providing the best facilities for the students to play. I owe so much gratitude to them for being so great to work with, and also for giving me food tickets for football games J

Like I mentioned earlier, I was the first athletic training student at PSH, so the coaches, staff, and athletes were not used to another person in the AT room. However, they all quickly warmed up to me and let me be a part of their teams. Whether we were giving concussion evaluations to the football players or helping a softball girl with a laceration, the student athletes always trusted and allowed me to help them out.  Having about 2,000 students enrolled at PSH, there was always an opportunity for me to learn. The coaches were also so great in letting me a part of their practices and games, allowing me to see what sideline and on field evaluations entailed.

Kelley "using the force" to practice taping blindfolded.

The second thing that made my clinical experience so great was my preceptor, Kyle Boyce ATC. He was able to tolerate my incessant questioning and for that I thank him. He also was great in getting me through my proficiencies and goals. He pushed me to try things I would have otherwise shied away from. Some days he declared “Kelley days” in which I was in charge of all evaluations, on field and in the training room. I was terrified of these days, but I also got to drive the Gator so they had its perks. Without him pushing me outside my comfort zone, I probably would not have the confidence I now have to go to other clinical sites. One important thing Kyle taught me that I will always take with me is to have fun. Everyday we would laugh about something, which I think is such an important quality of an athletic trainer. No matter how many broken athletes walked in, or how many games were going on at once, we always found time to joke around and have fun.

The third thing I loved about the clinical experience was putting what I learned in the classroom to use. Every day I brought my books and was able to apply special tests, modalities, or muscle assessments into evaluations. This not only helped me remember the tests for class, but also gave me a chance to be watched when doing them. Kyle was able to correct and give suggestions as I was learning instead of just practicing blindly.

Kyle & Kelley poised and ready at a basketball game.

Parkway South was such a great place to experience my first taste of athletic training. I cannot believe how attached I became to the Patriots. When the football team lost their first game, I could not believe how upset I was. (Thankfully this happened the same night the Cardinals beat the Braves in the Wild Card game, so I was not upset for long.) The point is that I am so happy to have had such a wonderful experience with some amazing people. Being a part of such a great community really helped me explore and learn so I could become a more confident athletic training student.

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Mehlville High School

Mehlville High School – Home of the Panthers!

By Dre Auclair (SLU MAT Class of 2014)

At the start of this semester, I had no idea what my clinical experience at Mehlville High School was going to be like. Would I be thrown into the fire and feel dumb not knowing anything? Would a sit around and watch and tape the occasional ankle and be a water girl for the most part? Luckily for me neither of those happened. Well maybe the first while blanking doing an evaluation.  This semester was the best experience that I could have ever asked for.  It started off at a great pace with a ton of practice and lots of learning from my preceptor Casey Zielinski ATC and ended with Casey essentially empowering me to make decisions in the athletic training room and seeing what I would and could do.

Dre Auclair (SLU MAT Class of 2014) works with a Mehlville student-athlete doing shoulder strengthening exercises.

My fellow SLU AT student Mary Rhatigan (MAT Class of 2014) and I went from taping ankles, to taping Achilles tendons to splinting displaced fractures, helping prevent an athlete from going into shock, helping with rehab protocols, writing soap notes and ultimately creating my own rehab programs for athletes and enhancing them as the athlete’s progression advanced. Never in a million years would I have thought that within a couple months of entering the professional phase of the SLU AT Program, being an official Athletic Training Student, would I be evaluating an injury and deciding on the best rehab protocol for that athlete and following them through return to play and after.

I owe so much gratitude to Casey. I think that she is the reason that I was able to thrive in the setting, learn so much and have the ability to set myself apart and design my own programs based on my own research. Casey challenged me to think outside the box, encouraged me when I was struggling and praised me when I did something really well. Having had such an incredible preceptor who I idolize as an athletic training professional, I fear that I may have blinders on in my future sites with my expectations of all my preceptors being just like Casey. I know that this is not the case, but having had such an incredible experience, moving forward will be hard but will also be a great learning experience.

Dre performs an ice slush treatment with one of the student-athletes in the Mehlville AT Room.

Not only am I grateful for such an incredible preceptor, but also a fantastic athletic director, coaching staff, and group of athletes. Gaining the respect of all of these individuals is a lesson I will take with me through life. Having built great professional relationships with all of them, I am confident in my future athletic training student endeavors. Being an athletic training student at Mehlville also allowed me the opportunity to come in as a guest speaker and teach an athletic training class how to tape ankles, the ligaments ankle taping supports and work with the students to practice taping on each other. The athletes at Mehlville, especially, are a great bunch of students who are tremendously grateful for the work put in to help them get back on the field or court.

SLU AT students Dre Auclair and Mary Rhatigan were profiled in Mehlville's school newspaper.

At the end of it all, I would have to say that the most gratifying moment in my clinical experience was with a freshman girls’ basketball player who I took through the evaluation process of a syndesmotic ankle sprain, designing my own rehab program for her, taking her through the program and making it tougher as she progressed and getting her back on the court. During a break in one of her practices following her return to play, she ran up to me and was very thankful for everything I had helped her with because she no longer had any pain playing running and felt 100% better. I look forward to many more experiences like that one. 

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Columbia High School

Columbia High School - Home of the Eagles!

By:  Derrick Neuner (SLU MAT Class of 2013) and Angelo Bongiorno (SLU MAT Class of 2014)

Columbia High School is a fantastic place for athletic training students to learn and hone their skills. Located just about 15 minutes from SLU’s campus, Columbia High School is a smaller high school compared to other SLU clinical sites. The head athletic trainer, James Sepich, ATC, is contracted by the high school through Monroe County Physical Therapy and Athletic Training Room.

During his normal week, James works hours in the morning and early afternoon at the clinic, assisting in the treatment of patients, handing membership issues for the gym, and coordinating an athletic training staff that is contracted as outreach to five local high schools. Then, on Mondays and Wednesdays, we meet him at CHS for injury/general health checks following dismissal of school. There is no true athletic training room at CHS; rather, we work out of a large storage room and a hallway that connects the weight room and the main gymnasium.

Derrick Neuner (SLU MAT Class of 2013), CHS Head FB Coach Scott Horner, James Sepich ATC (Columbia HS Athletic Trainer) and Angelo Bongiorno (SLU MAT Class of 2014) 

For game coverage, we cover all home varsity matches and away varsity football competitions. Additionally, for football, we conduct post-game injury checks the next morning at Monroe County PT. Because the high school does not have modalities, this gives us an opportunity to utilize additional treatment methods to keep our athletes on the field.

Across all sports, Columbia has a history of success. This season, football and boys’ soccer progressed to the second round of IHSA playoffs, and the volleyball team reached super-sectionals. Historically, CHS has placed several spring sports at the state level, including cheerleading, girls’ soccer, and baseball. There’s no doubt that a trip to Columbia High will have you full of “Blue Pride” as an athletic training student.

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Vianney High School

St. John Vianney High School - Home of the Griffins!

By: Kelly Peck & AJ Vandervorste (SLU MAT Class of 2014)

St. John Vianney High School is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory school located off highway 44 in St. Louis, MO about 15 minutes away from the SLU med campus. Vianney prides itself in building young men spiritually, academically and personally, while also providing an athletic environment rich in success and tradition. It was clear from the beginning of our clinical experience that this was an institution operated with class and consistency. The faculty and coaching staff of Vianney gave us a very warm welcome on the first day, and almost everyone came up and introduced themselves. Athletic director Terry Cochran leads the Griffins with the intent of always improving Vianney as a whole. During our time here, Coach Cochran was able to remodel the athletic training room, which greatly improved the quality of treatment administered by us and our preceptor, Kacey Chamness, ATC. Kacey has raised our expectations and outlook on the athletic training profession, as well as become a great friend to each of us. Kacey has experienced an admirable amount of success in her career as an athletic trainer due to her approachable, confident and kind nature, which has left a lasting impression on our budding athletic training career. Kacey, Coach Cochran, and the Vianney faculty, coaching staff, and players could not have been more welcoming, and made us proud to call ourselves Griffins this fall.

SLU AT student Kelly Peck tapes a soccer player's ankle at Vianney HS.

This is one of a series of posts by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training students featuring their clinical site and their preceptors. The number, quality and diversity of clinical instruction are major assets for the SLU AT Program.