SLU AT Students’ Time to "Shine On" At MBU

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Missouri Baptist University
By:  Josh Harris (MAT Class of 2015), Haylie Dehm, Jack Dunlap, Krystin Haas, Brady Moore and CJ Spink (MAT Class of 2016)

The most prominent phrase at Missouri Baptist University is “Shine On.” At MBU, the natural light of students is nurtured, allowing them to shine and stand out from the world. The following are reflections of our individual experiences, (since we are all assigned to a different sport and preceptor) and how we have been nurtured to Shine On.

I began the spring semester caring for men’s basketball with my preceptor Ashley Broughton ATC.  After an eventful basketball season I now have the opportunity to cover spring football. All of the athletic trainers who work at Missouri Baptist are knowledgeable and always looking to help us learn even if we are not working with their sport.  Being placed at Missouri Baptist has been an eye opening experience because I have learned that there is a big difference between the high school and college settings.  My time at MoBap has been nothing short of amazing. (Jack Dunlap)

For my second semester of clinical rotations, I have been with Mike Nolan ATC. I have been helping him cover men’s wrestling, women’s wrestling, and baseball. One thing that has become evident to me over the last 3 months is the vast variety of roles that an athletic trainer has in his or her workplace. There are many responsibilities that I had never even imagined I might someday be faced with such as scheduling athlete’s appointments with other medical providers and assisting athletes with insurance information in order to make sure they are utilizing care that is covered by their health insurance. I have become interested in the prevention of injury and how I can apply methods to help a variety of athletes. As always, I am very excited to see what the future holds for my profession and myself. (Brady Moore)

I am with the men's and women's lacrosse team with my preceptor, Jamie Herron ATC. I am very much enjoying my clinical rotation here so far. I am not only learning practical skills, but in general they have ways that they set up the training room that seem much more sensible and functional to me. These tips could be useful down the road if/when I need to set something up in a functional manner. My preceptor is very good at quizzing me on injuries and making me think to help me learn and use me knowledge in every day practice. I have also received a much better view of how colleges are run and how they work from the athletic training aspect. This clinical rotation has been a wonderful addition to my learning and experience in the field. (Krystin Haas)

I have been with Meredith Dill ATC and the men’s volleyball team this season. Meredith is the Head Athletic Trainer at MBU. Because of this, I have learned more about the administrative side of the profession. The most interesting thing that has come up so far, has been interactions with other administrators, in which the ATs try to make them understand the legal regulations ATS have to abide by, via Missouri licensure. Mere’s teaching style with me has been of the “trial by fire” variety. I have always had great success learning from this style and I appreciate that she understands that. There have been some occasions in which Meredith has been engaged in administrative duties, but I have been able to work with and learn from the other ATs until Meredith’s return. This experience has been significantly different from my high school experience in the fall and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it, but I have, and am so thankful for it! (Haylie Dehm)

I am with Emily Lawrence ATC and the softball team. Being at MoBap has allowed me to interact with college level athletes as compared to last semester at the high school. There are many differences in maturity level, skill level, overall athletic ability, and understanding of an athletic trainer's duty with athletes at the college level. College level athletes do tend to challenge you more than the high school athletes simply due to the age similarities, but once you establish that you have the ability to help them with their sport or injury, they are more cooperative and open to working with you. (CJ Spink)

A typical day this spring at MBU has involved: preparing water coolers and ice for practice or a game, performing a variety of different treatments for lacrosse athletes before and after practice, attending practices and games, and learning something new about athletic training from my preceptor. I believe that my athletic training skills have come a long way since the beginning of this clinical rotation at Missouri Baptist University and I owe plenty of thanks to my preceptor, Jamie Herron ATC, and all of the athletic training staff at this institution. The MBU AT staff works hard to make this a quality experience for all of the SLU AT students they come into contact with and that workmanship definitely shows what kind of commitment the MBU AT staff has for the athletic training profession. Now I look forward to stepping into the MBU AT staff’s shoes and obtaining the ATC credential for myself. (Josh Harris)

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.