November 12, 2015

Veteran Preceptors Create a Great Learning Experience for SLU AT Students at Washington University



SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Washington University Athletics
By: Demeisha Crawford, Andrea Strebler and Jack Dunlap (SLU MAT Class of 2016) and Ali Graham and Max Alander (SLU MAT Class of 2017)

“Da Bears” of Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) have welcomed SLU Athletic Training Students for years. We, Demeisha, Ali, Max, Jack and Andrea, are lucky to have such a unique experience for fall 2015 at WUSTL. August came with football preseason, physicals, new PY1’s, PY2’s, and Spain foreign exchange students.  Carlos and Javier are Sports Physiotherapists attending University of Camilo Jose Cela in Madrid. We were extremely lucky to have them for preseason August 2015. Both students were extremely intelligent and had this contagious love for sports. Javier in particular was a competitive swimmer and shared with us his capstone of aquatic rehabilitation in various stages of rehabilitation.  Even with English as there second language; they were able to communicate and teach us new valuable information in rehab especially. We were sad to see them go but wish them all the best in their future endeavors.


Football at WUSTL started August 10th and has been full swing ever since. We have experienced many injuries over the past two months and have become familiar with the management and processes for return to play. Anything from anterior shoulder dislocation to turf toe have been assessed, evaluated and treated under the supervision of two very intelligent preceptors; Rick Larsen ATC and SLU Alum Jacob Blasingame ATC. Both of our preceptors try hard day after day to teach us proper techniques, normal management and skills of assessment for optimum health care for our athletes. They are committed to helping us grow into the Athletic Trainers we aspire to be.

Andrea Strebler pictured with her parents at WUSTL Soccer Match.
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.

November 10, 2015

SLU AT Students Get a Rich and Varied Learning Experience with Fontbonne AT Staff


SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Fontbonne University
By: Lauren Scalise and Andrew Gomez (SLU MAT Class of 2016)

Fontbonne University has provided us with a great experience so far! The four preceptors; Andrea Lindquist ATC, Ann Schmerbauch ATC (SLU Alum), Jaci Clauson ATC and Brittany Koops ATC (SLU Alum); provides us with deeper learning base when it comes to evaluations and rehabilitation because each AT has a different way of doing things. This is helpful because it keeps us away from getting into a standard routine. The great thing about this site is that our preceptors are on a constant rotation of all the sports. This is really beneficial because the athletes are familiar with all the ATs. When they come in with questions or for rehab they can talk to any of the ATs and everyone is on the same page.

We get experience with a wide variety of sports at the NCAA Division III collegiate level. We have worked with soccer, basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, baseball, softball, golf, tennis, and volleyball. We have spent a lot of time on developing rehabilitation protocols for athletes and how to guide them through the rehabilitation process. We also have learned a few new taping techniques to help with shin splints, Achilles tendon issues, even taping techniques to help with TFCC injuries. 

The athletes, and AT staff at Fontbonne University are great to work with!  Every day we come in we are leave with new knowledge pertaining to the athletic training profession. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year will have in store for us!

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.

November 09, 2015

Culture of Success and Respect Gives SLU AT Students a Great Experience at CBC



SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Christian Brothers College High School
By: CJ Spink (SLU MAT Class of 2016) and Stephanie Ross (SLU MAT Class of 2017)

Our clinical rotation at Christian Brothers College High School has provided us with an abundance of learning opportunities. Kristen Jeans ATC, our preceptor at CBC employed through Mercy Sports Medicine, allows us to learn with an incredible amount of autonomy when treating athletes. She gives us the freedom to evaluate any and all injuries that we feel comfortable with and allows us to make return to play decisions as we see fit. This type of learning forces us to practice making decisions that we will make as future athletic trainers.

Working side by side with another student in the other professional year has been helpful in strengthening our learning experiences. We are able to review information from the PY1 year that Stephanie is currently learning, which allows for a better chance to grasp information from class while providing a great opportunity to review the same information that is likely to be on the BOC exam. The constant conversation that occurs during evaluations requires us to explain the purpose behind our actions, which forces us to understand the exact reason as to why we are doing what we are doing. 

The athletic environment at CBC is one of the most elite that you will find in high school sports. Every one of the sports teams is consistently competing for top rankings in the state for their respected sports. With the winningest soccer coach in high school history and a football team who has been undefeated for the past two seasons, both teams look to repeat as state champions. This speaks volumes towards the skill level of the athletes that we work with on a daily basis. 

As entertaining as the athletes are to watch on the field, the athletic environment isn’t the only reason CBC is a great clinical site. Every person in the building has accepted us into the community as if we have been doing our clinical rotations there for years. All of the coaches respect and appreciate our knowledge and commonly communicate with us regarding athletes that we work with individually as if we were already certified athletic trainers. We couldn’t have asked for a better athletic program, preceptor, and clinical site to help us develop into future athletic trainers. 

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.

November 08, 2015

Empowered SLU AT Student Grows Clinical Skills at Webster University


SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Webster University
By: Ryan Lilly (SLU MAT Class of 2016)
This year I am at Webster University.  Webster is a small private college located in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis.  Webster has a variety of sports including women’s volleyball, soccer, basketball, cheerleading, tennis, baseball, softball, cross country and track and field. The athletic trainers at Webster, Jenny Popken ATC and Martin Fields ATC, are my preceptors. I have been able to work with and learn from the both of them. 


Webster has provided me with many learning opportunities. So far this year the main thing I have been able to work on is my evaluation process. I have been able to perform a lot of evaluations from head to toe while at Webster, and Jenny and Martin have helped me improve my evaluations a great deal. Another thing that I have learned a lot about is rehabilitation. Jenny and Martin have worked with me on creating rehabilitation programs for injured athletes for a wide range of injuries. Other things that I have had a good deal of exposure include electrical stimulation, ultrasound, taping, managing hemorrhaging, managing concussions, and covering, cleaning and dressing wounds and much more. Martin and Jenny are always taking the time to teach me new things and always ask what I want to learn about. They have helped me work on my competencies and have even thought of other things to teach me that they think would be useful in my future. 

I have enjoyed my time at Webster and I am looking forward to the rest of the time that I get spend there. I have been able to get more of hands on experience than I could’ve hoped for. Martin and Jenny are great teachers and I am excited to see what I am going to learn from them next. 

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.

November 07, 2015

SLU AT Student Getting Excellent Professional Development Experience at Parkway West HS



SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Parkway West High School
By: Rachel Spika (SLU MAT Class of 2016)

For my final year in the SLU Athletic Training Program, I have the privilege of spending my full-year clinical rotation at Parkway West High School. West is a school of about 1280 students, many of whom participate in highly competitive classes of Missouri high school athletics. We are in the midst of finishing up our fall sports season and gearing up for winter sports. This fall I gained experience working with athletes and injuries in football, soccer, softball, cross country, field hockey, swimming, volleyball, and tennis.  


Each day I work under the supervision and direction of my preceptor, Matt Berning M.AT, LAT, ATC. I enjoy working with and learning from him because he recognizes the stage I am at in my education and therefore gives me a lot of responsibility. He provides me with many hands-on learning opportunities by expecting me to work on my own whether it be with injury evaluations, rehab protocols, documentation, return to play decisions, or communication with coaches and other staff members. He is always there to assist me if needed and give me constructive criticism, and we have had some great conversations about how to provide the best care for our athletes. This process has been very instrumental in my professional development, because it forces me to ask myself what I would do in certain situations if I were on my own without a preceptor, as will be the case next year after I graduate.

When I say that I am privileged to have been placed at West, it is no exaggeration. The entire community – coaches, staff, athletes – have been extremely welcoming. Ever since I started on the first day of fall sports, I have been treated like a valued member of the staff. Being seen by others as a health care professional, combined with the autonomy granted to me by my preceptor, has increased not only my confidence and skill set but my professionalism as well. I am growing as a student and person each day I am at West, and I look forward to all I have yet to learn and experience over the course of the school year.

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.

November 06, 2015

SLU AT Students Get an Amazing Action-Packed Clinical Experience with the St. Louis Rams


SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - St. Louis Rams
By: Dustin Jamboretz and Brad Bunten (SLU MAT Class of 2016)

Our time with the Saint Louis Rams has been an amazing experience. At the time of this blog post, we have now been working with the organization for over 4 months. We began with the Rams as a requirement for our summer field experience which lasted from the middle of May through the month of July. After the completion of our summer field experience, we were presented with the opportunity to continue our education with the Rams. We were invited to stay for the remainder of the year; from the beginning of training camp to the completion of our academic school year in May 2016.


Every day at Rams Park is action packed. We typically begin each morning by preparing the athletic training room. This includes setting up the therapeutic modality machines, restocking any inventory, making ice bags, preparing a room designated for recovery for HRV (heart rate variability) readings, and placing GPS units inside the players’ uniforms for practice. From there, we monitor the recovery room during HRV readings, help with any treatments or rehabilitations, and assist with running the vision board for vision training. Usually after this point, the players will go to meetings. This gives us a chance to begin setting up the field for practice. During practice, we are assigned an individual position to cover. Coverage generally includes administering proper hydration and ensuring that any medical necessities are managed. After practice, it is our responsibility to put away all athletic training supplies brought out to practice, including field trunks, medical kits, spine board, etc.  We will then head back into the athletic training room and help provide treatments and rehabilitation services. 

Prior to this clinical site, we have both worked in the high school and collegiate athletic training settings.  As you can imagine, the resources that the Rams organization possesses are far greater than that of our prior clinical sites. As a result, our time spent here has allowed us to use a wide variety of modalities that we may not have had the opportunity to use with any other clinical placement. These types of resources and experiences may play an important role in our career, as exposure and familiarity to the best equipment could prove useful in our future work settings. 

It has been interesting to witness that although the Rams sports medicine staff does have access to more resources than other settings, the profession that is athletic training is still practiced in the same manner; with the main priority being patient-centered care. The time we have spent in the Rams athletic training room has taught us that although we have access to a multitude of resources (expensive modalities, rehab equipment and training aids); the fundamental aspect to this profession is treating our patients with respect and dignity.

We cannot give enough praise and thanks to the athletic training staff which consists of the head athletic trainer Reggie Scott ATC, assistant athletic trainers James Lomax ATC, Byron Cunningham PT, ATC, Tyler Williams ATC, and 2015 SLU alum Hilary Stepansky ATC for their  willingness and patience to serve as mentors and teachers on a daily basis. 

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.