July 30, 2013

SLU AT Student Gets Experience with a Physician Extender

Blue Tail Medical Group Summer Internship
By: Tyler Wood (MAT Class of 2014)

This summer, I spent several weeks as an athletic training intern at the Blue Tail Medical Group in St. Louis, MO. Blue Tail Medical Group specializes in non-operative care of sports and orthopedic injuries, concussion care, and regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is an advanced field of orthopedic that uses biological treatments to help the body heal itself; Blue Tail Medical Group is the only group in the Midwest that do these type of procedures. In the group, there are four doctors but I worked under the expertise of Dr. Matthew Bayes. 

Dr. Matt Bayes, SLU AT Student Tyler Wood and Devon Lacy ATC
In addition to Dr. Bayes, I worked with his physician extender, Devon Lacy, ATC. Together, they taught me so much in regards to musculoskeletal injury and concussion assessment and treatment. While in the clinic, I saw a patient population ranging from youth athletes to professional athletes to 90-year-old patients. Everyday was new experience and I had to be ready for anything. My primary responsibility was to take patients’ vitals, prep injections, take histories, and perform initial injury evaluations. After Dr. Bayes would go into the room, perform his own evaluation, and then prescribe a treatment plan. 

This was truly a great experience because I saw injuries I have not seen before and got first-hand experience in forming treatment plans. Dr. Bayes and Devon pushed me outside my safety zone and introduced me to many great opportunities. I could not have asked for better people to learn from. I am excited to take what I learned from them applying the knowledge to my final year at Saint Louis University and eventually in my career.

Students in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program have a required internship in the summer between their two professional years in the program.  This blog post details a student's reflection on their internship experience.

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