SLU AT Student Has a Fantastic Summer at Washington University

Washington University Summer Internship

By: Mary Rhatigan (MAT Class of 2014)

This summer I had the opportunity to work with some great people at Washington University Saint Louis covering athletic training for the Bear’s summer sports camps. I have always loved working with kids and this summer was a fantastic learning experience not only for practicing my athletic training skills but also for expanding my scope of practice to an entirely new range of ages.

           

After clinical rotations in both a high school and SLU, It was great to have a brief change of pace and see what it is like working with such a different age group. Throughout the weeks I worked with volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer and football for 6-18 year olds. Some of the residential camps were really busy with a huge number of athletes playing the sport they love from morning til night. For the most part everyone stayed relatively healthy and we were able to manage things smoothly thanks to the wonderful staff and facilities at Wash U.

Rick Larsen ATC with SLU AT student Mary Rhatigan

Along with working with the different camps, I got the chance to help out with a few Wash U athletes’ rehabilitation programs. Head Athletic Trainer Rick Larsen ATC was excited to tell me I would probably have the opportunity to be exposed to some of their rehab cases and he did not disappoint. I was very impressed with their system for organizing the rehab charts and at how easy it was for the athletes to take on the responsibility of dedicated work to get healthy.

Overall this summer was great. I worked in a beautiful facility with a wonderful staff and not only learned a ton but also made some good friends. I wish them the best with their transition into a brand new Athletic Training Room next year.

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