October 30, 2015

SLU AT Student Gets an Extensive Clinical Experience at St. Mary's HS


SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - St. Mary's High School
By: Krystin Haas (SLU MAT Class of 2016)

I have been at St. Mary's High School for about 2 months now and it has definitely been a great experience so far. At the start it is a little overwhelming, in the sense that there are so many things that my preceptor and SLU alum Bridget Quirk MAT, ATC does in-house that I have not seen before through her position which is sponsored by SLU and SSM-SLU Hospital.

The AT room is a very hectic place most of the time, with things always happening. This has gotten me a lot of experience doing rehabs and having a role in the athletes return to play, and actually get to see and measure their progress throughout their process. At the last high school I was at, the athletes mostly went to physical therapy for their rehab and I didn't get as hands on of a role in it. When I was at Missouri Baptist University, we were only dealing with one team most of the time, so I didn't really get a lot of rehab practice either besides basic things. Being at a high school where most is done in-house, and dealing with all of the in season athletes, is a hectic thing and a great experience.



On another note, the demographic diversity at St. Mary's is also a good learning experience. I never would have really thought about what to do if an athlete didn't have insurance, or couldn't afford simple things that could make a big difference, like foot orthotics. There have been injuries that they can't afford the out of pocket charges for the urgent care, so the kids don't go or they just go to the ER. Not all of the athletes fall into this category, but just seeing and dealing with the ones that do, it is an eye opening experience that I was not anticipating having to deal with when I started there. It is nice to have to deal with now though, so I would better know what to do if I ever am in this situation again in my professional career.

Overall, I have learned many things at my time at St. Mary's and I am enjoying myself thoroughly. I am excited to see more and learn more as the year continues and anxious to see what else time brings us. I have am also excited that I get to be here the whole year and can get excited about all of the winter/spring sports that I didn't get to experience last year because I left. 

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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