SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Missouri Baptist University
Josh Harris (MAT Class of 2015)
The Missouri Baptist University Spartans, founded in 1964, reside in what is commonly referred to as “West County” in St. Louis, Missouri. The Spartans compete in the American Midwest Conference, part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). There are a total of eight ATCs at Missouri Baptist, five of which are full time athletic trainers for the school and three that are graduate assistants. PY2, Josh Harris, and PY1s, Brad Bunten, Brandi Burgett, Rachel Spika, and Erika Cook share athletic training clinical experience primarily with four of the eight ATCs at Missouri Baptist, which is commonly referred to as MoBap for short.
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| Josh Harris (center) with Demeisha Crawford and Josh Yanzer at MoBap vs Lindenwood-Belleville Soccer game. |
Our time at MoBap has been an excellent learning experience for all of us, regardless of where we stand as a PY student. The athletic trainers at this university have been outstanding in helping all of us further ourselves as independent, future practitioners.
All of us are excited to learn much more as the fall semester progresses – Go Spartans!
Brad Bunten, Brandi Burgett, Erika Cook and Rachel Spika (MAT Class of 2016)
We were not exactly sure what to expect when we arrived at Missouri Baptist University for our first day of clinical rotations. Being PY1s and having never been out on clinical rotations before, this was going to be a new experience for all of us. Our preceptors, Craig Zurliene ATC and Ashley Broughton ATC, quickly got us acclimated to the daily rigors of what it is like for an NAIA football team going through their first ever football season.
While it can be a struggle working with a team that does not even have their own field, we have gained an immense understanding of the fact that athletic trainers always need to be the ones that are organized and able to adapt to changing situations.
Our days start bright and early at 4:00 a.m. when we arrive at MoBap. Before the athletes start coming in for morning treatment and prep for practice, we prepare the athletic training room for the day and get all the coolers, injury ice, and other practice necessities ready. After taping the athletes and going through any morning rehabs or treatments, we head over to our temporary field next door at CBC High School for 6:00 a.m. practice. It is somewhat of an adventure being a team without our own field. Recently it has actually served as an awesome opportunity for us, because we now have the privilege of practicing at Rams Park – the training facility of the St. Louis Rams – twice a week.
The first ever season of Spartan football has been nothing shy of action-packed for us as athletic training students. So far we have seen everything from shoulder injuries to foot fractures, knee sprains to dislocated fingers, and the ever-classic ankle sprain. This being our first year in the professional phase of the program, we are lacking in some of the skills required to evaluate and treat these injuries when they occur. But as of now, it has been extremely beneficial for our learning to simply be surrounded by all of these different types of injuries.
Additionally, our preceptors are great at answering any questions we may have, and they are always willing to provide us with supervised instruction. Overall, our experience at Missouri Baptist University has been a positive one and has been very beneficial in our development as athletic training students.
Brad Bunten, Brandi Burgett, Erika Cook and Rachel Spika (MAT Class of 2016)
We were not exactly sure what to expect when we arrived at Missouri Baptist University for our first day of clinical rotations. Being PY1s and having never been out on clinical rotations before, this was going to be a new experience for all of us. Our preceptors, Craig Zurliene ATC and Ashley Broughton ATC, quickly got us acclimated to the daily rigors of what it is like for an NAIA football team going through their first ever football season.
While it can be a struggle working with a team that does not even have their own field, we have gained an immense understanding of the fact that athletic trainers always need to be the ones that are organized and able to adapt to changing situations.
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| Ashley Broughton ATC, Erika Cook, Rachel Spika, Brad Bunten, Brandi Burgett, Emily Lawrence ATC and Craig Zurliene ATC |
The first ever season of Spartan football has been nothing shy of action-packed for us as athletic training students. So far we have seen everything from shoulder injuries to foot fractures, knee sprains to dislocated fingers, and the ever-classic ankle sprain. This being our first year in the professional phase of the program, we are lacking in some of the skills required to evaluate and treat these injuries when they occur. But as of now, it has been extremely beneficial for our learning to simply be surrounded by all of these different types of injuries.
Additionally, our preceptors are great at answering any questions we may have, and they are always willing to provide us with supervised instruction. Overall, our experience at Missouri Baptist University has been a positive one and has been very beneficial in our development as athletic training students.
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.
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