SLU AT Student has Summer Clinical Experience with SLU Men's Basketball Program

By: Kris Koenig (MAT Class of 2025)

For my summer field experience, I have chosen to do my clinical rotation at SLU, specifically with the men’s basketball team. My preceptor is Jonathan Burth, ATC, aka “JB”. At the start of the fall semester of 2024, I will be joined by PY2 Jeremy, who is in the same cohort as myself.

My time with the SLU men’s basketball team has been immensely rewarding. The ATR offers a diverse array of state-of-the-art modalities, which I have had the privilege to utilize on student-athletes, further enhancing my knowledge and experience with various treatment methods. JB, along with the other AT who assists with different SLU teams, has been extraordinarily welcoming and supportive, facilitating a seamless transition and fostering an engaging environment.

I want to extend my gratitude to JB and the entire SLU training staff for permitting me to assist alongside them this summer. Their guidance and expertise have been instrumental in ensuring I obtain the most benefit from my summer field experience.

This is one of a series of posts authored by students enrolled in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program. The number of clinical sites, the quality and diversity of the clinical experience opportunities, and the contemporary expertise of our preceptors are strengths of the CAATE Accredited SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Student Participates in Multiple Hands-On Clinical Experience Opportunities

By: Tori Connelly (MAT Class of 2025)

This summer I have the privlegde of completing my summer clinical experience with Northwestern Medicine Orthopedics. I have/will be rotating between various preceptors and their doctors all summer. My main preceptor is Jay Sears and he works with Dr. Choi, he specializes in shoulder and elbow injuries. Other athletic trainers I have been with are Kari who works with Dr. Kenny a hand specialist and Tara who work with Dr. Kenny and Dr. Jain, a knee and hip specialist mainly focusing on patients over the age of 40. 

I have already seen so many different cases. A lot of these injuries are not sports related. There are a lot of falls, work injuries, and chronic injuries. One of the most interesting cases I’ve seen was a cutaneous horn. The patient had it removed however, the area it was removed from was the size of two quarters and was an open wound as there was no skin in the area to stitch together. I’ve also seen a 1.5 week post op knee replacement patient who was in to have their staples and post-op surgical dressings removed.

The athletic trainers at Northwestern mainly take the history, any notes, do splint/cast removal, brace fitting or wound care. The doctors are the ones primarily responsible for examination, special tests, and plan. I have been able to observe countless injections ranging from the shoulder all the way to the fingers. Some injections are cortisone injections to mainly help with pain relief while others are monovisc injections which are supposed to help with pain relief but also lubricate the joint with a series of three injections, typically done in osteoarthritis patients. 

I am excited to continue my internship with Northwestern! I am set rotate with; podiatry, health and wellness center, pediatrics, and all around sports medicine. I am extremely thankful for this rotation and hope I can take away different wound cleaning procedures, suture removals, casting, and brace fitting into my future practice!

Along with my Northwestern internship I also was also at Naperville North High School, my alma mater!

I was mainly with Assistant Athletic Trainer Dani Nolin LAT, ATC helping with the morning summer camps. I also helped in the evenings with preseason football with Head Athletic Trainer Jason Majchrowski LAT, ATC and Northwestern outreach Athletic Trainer Stef Poddock MAT, LAT, ATC.

Summer camps were ages 4th grade through 12th grade so there were varying levels of how they explain their mechanism of injuries and their pain. I enhanced my evaluation skills and learned more rehab exercises from Dani. Rehab is an area I enjoy learning from various preceptors as everyone always has different rehab exercises they use for athletes. This in turn helps me gain more for myself to always think of! With Mac and Stef at football we were busy with taping, a few evals, and watching the weather for either lightning or heat advisories. During preseason I was able to go through a full knee eval which I ended up helping diagnose as an ACL tear.

Overall, being able to go to NNHS now as a student AT feels really full circle. This is where I found my love and passion for Athletic Training and being able to now help with more than filling water is exciting. Additionally, being able to further my professional relationship with two Athletic Trainers I have known for going on 8 years is extremely valuable. In addition,  I was able to see a few of my previous coaches and other athletic department administrators who are always in my corner rooting for me! I always enjoy my time at Naperville North and am extremely thankful for being able to return when I am home to gain more experience!

This is one of a series of posts authored by students enrolled in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program. The number of clinical sites, the quality and diversity of the clinical experience opportunities, and the contemporary expertise of our preceptors are strengths of the CAATE Accredited SLU AT Program.

SLU AT Student has Immersive Clinical Experience with DI Football

By: Jeremy Gries (MAT Class of 2025)

My clinical placement at the University of Washington has been an exceptionally enriching experience. Here, I have had the chance to apply a diverse array of skills learned in the classroom, including wound care, modalities, rehabilitation techniques, and taping. Working alongside my preceptor, Jaqulyn Carrell, M.ED, LAT, CKTP, I have actively engaged in contributing to a dynamic learning environment helping primarily with the University of Washington Football team.

This experience has highlighted the importance of quick decision-making, adaptability, and multitasking in the role of an athletic trainer. While these skills are not always explicitly taught in the classroom, they are honed through hands-on experience in a clinical setting. I am deeply grateful to the University of Washington and the SLU AT Program for providing me with the opportunity to refine these essential skills in such a supportive environment.

This is one of a series of posts authored by students enrolled in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program. The number of clinical sites, the quality and diversity of the clinical experience opportunities, and the contemporary expertise of our preceptors are strengths of the CAATE Accredited SLU AT Program.