May 03, 2018

SLU Pre-professional AT Student Appreciates Directed Observation Experiences in Preparation for the Next Stage of the Program

New AT Student Blog Post - Mitchell Buerck (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

Going into Junior year, I was a bit nervous with Directed Observation (DO) hours and the last year before becoming a Professional Year (PY) student. It all changed going to my first DO experience with PY2 student Caitlyn Gibson, PY1 student Danielle Jabczynski, and Dean Tiffany ATC, the athletic trainer at John Burroughs. The AT room there was so different than anything I’d ever seen. Going there was definitely an eye opener and I’m very thankful for the experience.

What really got me excited for going into professional phase was the NCAA Gymnastics championship. I’ve never had experience with gymnastics before and I didn’t know much about it and thought that I wouldn’t enjoy it all too much, but doing DO hours there really changed my mind. It was very fast paced with everything going on and a different atmosphere that I’d never seen before. It was nice having PY1 student Jazmon Carroll to explain how everything worked and AT faculty member Dr. Timothy Howell make me feel welcomed and talk about the next two years of the program. It was a great experience that I’ll never forget and would love to do more events like that again.

I think doing DO hours really helped me with what I will be doing the next two years and what I need to learn to become the AT I want to be. Talking with the older students about gross anatomy really made me feel better knowing that if they can do it, so can I. The DO hours gave me a head start for my PY years and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

This is one of a series of blog posts written by students entering the professional phase of the SLU AT Program as a part of MAT 3000 - AT Student Development II.

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