SLU AT Student Gets Varied Perspectives in Immersive Clinical Experience at Fort Zumwalt North HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Fort Zumwalt North High School
By: Cheyenne Meinershagen (MAT Class of 2020)

I spent my summer gaining experience at Fort Zumwalt North High School. I had the opportunity to be mentored by SLU alum Jay Maturan MAT, ATC, from Athletico, and multiple other athletic trainers gaining insight to their ways of thinking and had the opportunity to see how that translates into their practice.

We had multiple different team camps with athletes in the athletic training room before and after each of their practices. I have had the opportunity to learn multiple different rehab programs and instruct different athletes through them.

I am enjoying my time spent at Fort Zumwalt North and can’t wait to spend the rest of my PY2 year there!

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

SLU AT Student Builds Clinical Confidence and Communication Skills at New Trier HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - New Trier High School, Wilmette, Illinois

By: Gwyn Brown (MAT Class of 2020)

My summer clinical experience is as New Trier High School in Wilmette, IL. New Trier has a highly recognized athletic program in the Midwest with many of their athletes going on to play at the collegiate level. This summer New Trier has been an amazing experience and has helped build my clinical confidence and communication skills. 

I had the opportunity to be there for all the summer sport camps which include, football, girls’ and boys’ lacrosse, girls field hockey, girls’ soccer, and occasionally basketball. What has been new for me at new trier is that I am used to athletes playing one sport a season or just one sport period but not at New Trier in the summer. These athletes are going back to back practices for different sports. It is a great experience because I get to be involved with multiple sports consistently that don’t occur during the same season regularly. 

Another highlight of New Trier that I haven’t seen anywhere else at my clinical sites, is that they, in the last year, built an athletic training room right next to the fields, fully equipped with an ice machine, plinths, whirlpool, electrical stimulation and ultra sound machine, and enough space for rehabs to take place, and if there is not enough space, take 10 steps and you have an entire turf field. Being so close to the fields makes us more accessible to the athletes. They come in more and are more willing to come in and get checked out versus us being all the way in the building down in the basement which tends to be a deterrent being so far. 

Communicating with high schoolers can be hard and at New Trier, their Athletic Trainer Jordan Anderson ATC who was my preceptor really helped me improve on how to communicate with the athletes and how to understand the way they communicate. This has helped me immensely get increasingly better at evaluations and being able to walk the athletes through rehab or explain their injuries to a parent or coach. New Trier was a great summer clinical because it helped me keep old skills and knowledge sharp but improve skills that needed to be sharpened. It was truly an incredible experience with intelligent mentors and high-end equipment and tools.  

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

SLU AT Student Learns Many Skills in Comprehensive Clinical Experience at Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital Chicago

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
By: Allison Stefan (MAT Class of 2020)

My summer field experience at Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital Chicago was amazing! During the week I had the opportunity to cover four pediatric orthopedic clinics with four different preceptors at various locations throughout the Chicagoland area. I also had “Flex Fridays” which consist of shadowing different departments that work close with the Pediatric Orthopedic team, such as the Orthotics and Physical Therapy Departments.

In a nutshell, on Mondays I covered Dr. Labella’s clinic with my preceptor Kristi McCracken, MBA, ATC. Through this clinic I have seen multiple concussion cases. During the appointments my preceptor let me run BESS testing on patients, as well as, SCAT questions. On Tuesdays I went to clinic with Dr. Hang and Maddie McHugh, MS, ATC. This clinic schedules more fracture/ orthopedic injuries and I assisted with casting patients, in addition to practicing my documentation skills in Epic. Wednesdays were clinic with Dr. Finlayson and Emily Worobec M.S.Ed, ATC, LAT, which mainly deal with seeing various orthopedic patients, such as ACL tears and OCDs. Dr. Finlayson is one of the surgeons on the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine team so many of his appointments are referrals for possible conditions that may require surgery, or post operation check-ups. On Thursdays I covered a clubfoot children’s clinic with Dr. Carl and Adam Potteiger MS, ATC. In this clinic, I have learned about the Ponseti Method of correcting clubfoot children and much more about the casting procedure.

In addition to these clinics, I had the opportunity to observe the OR, teach female athletes Lurie’s Knee Injury Prevention Program at summer camps, and attend the Orthopedic and Sport Medicine team’s monthly meeting. I couldn’t be more thrilled about my summer field experience, the doctors and my preceptors are outstanding. They made me feel apart of the team by explaining each condition to me, letting me view images, and just overall including me into their clinics. I can tell that I will walk away with a toolbox full of skills that I did not have before.

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

SLU AT Student Appreciates Preceptor's Role in Immersive Clinical Learning Experience at St. Louis Scott Gallagher

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - St. Louis Scott Gallagher

By: Becca McGrail (MAT Class of 2020)

For my summer field experience I had the opportunity to assist my preceptor, Emily Costabile MAT, ATC (SLU MAT Class of 2015) from Mercy Sports Medicine, with preventative care and rehabilitation of the athletes at St. Louis Scott Gallagher. During my time caring for these athletes, I was exposed to various new learning opportunities that have made me more confident in my abilities. Emily has taught me a lot about different ways to perform manual techniques and how to implement rehabilitation programs with this unique athlete population. Since the SGSL has such a large athlete population ranging from young kids to high school seniors, I have learned to adapt my communication skills in order to best explain to my athletes what their injury entails and how to best treat it in a way that they will understand.

I could not be more appreciative to Emily for allowing me to practice my evaluations skills, improve my techniques and develop rehabilitation programs on my own in order for me to become the best future Athletic Trainer that I can be. She has created a positive learning environment that encouraged me to consider and work through different situations that I may face again on my own in the future. 

I have really enjoyed getting to work with soccer especially because that is what I aspire to do in my future career. I cannot wait to apply everything I have learned this summer at my next clinical site in a few weeks!

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