By: Nia Callion (MAT Class of 2024)
When I first arrived at Fontbonne University, the traffic seemed slow, which could be due to it being so
early in the season and no one was feeling too nicked and bruised or if it was going to be a slower paced clinical site. I tried to make it work in my favor by taking advantage of the ‘free time’ by doing things like reading and learning the emergency action plans thoroughly so that I would have a good understanding of my role in the athletic training room. I also took that time to become familiar with how to use a lot of equipment in the athletic training so that when athletes did come in I was prepared to assist my preceptor in the best way possible.
After the first week or so things did start to pick up and I began learning a lot more from my preceptors Samantha Hochmuth ATC and Clay Thebeau ATC; so much so that it felt like an advanced course. I have seen an Athlete who came into their season with a partially torn ACL rehab and worked to play in their season before getting surgery in the winter. I have also seen and been learning about trigger point releases and manual massages on athletes who are experiencing muscle tension and or pain. I was expecting to be doing a lot more taping and working on my taping skills, but I haven't really done too much taping outside of game days when the athletes would like their wrist wrapped or ankles taped before games. I’m happy that the pace has picked up a bit and that I am getting more hands on opportunities in the athletic training room.
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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