December 22, 2018

Athlone Student Gains Clinical Skills and New Friends in the USA at Saint Louis University and Webster Groves High School

International Clinical Exchange - Saint Louis University and Athlone Institute of Technology
By: Daire O'Regan (Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy Student, Athlone Institute of Technology)

I am a student in the Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy program at Athlone Institute of Technology in Athlone, Ireland and I spent Fall Term 2018 in the USA at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.
For my clinical placement I was at Webster Groves High School, with SLU 2nd Year student Erin Fabbri and 1st year student Carmen Roberson, along with Lindenwood University Student Kaylen Howard. Under my preceptor Sean Wright ATC we got plenty of field experience, covering a range of sports American Football, Soccer, Basketball and Volleyball. In these sports we got to see a wide range of injuries and got the opportunity to work with a lot of different athletes.

Coming into the clinical placement I was really looking to improve my Rehabilitation skills, and I think we were afforded enough time with athletes and a variety of injuries that I was able to improve these skills. I also learned new rehab skills in class at SLU with Mike Markee PT, ATC, which I think really benefited me. Also over the course of the 16 weeks I was in Webster I was shown different ways of doing certain things, for example in ankle taping I was shown a variation of the way were taught in class.


At Webster, I covered sports like American Football, and despite not winning a game, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of a sport that I hadn’t previously covered and the intensity at which it was played, meaning something was always going on to keep us busy. In the last few weeks I got to work with the basketball team, and got to see them play in the Webster Classic.

While we were here we got to tour around Busch Stadium and got to hear from the AT there and his experiences with professional sports. I also got to experience what college athletics when we got clinical Experience with SLU Women’s Basketball team, however, it would have been nice to have got more time to experience college sports and maybe even a few games.


I really enjoyed my time in St. Louis at Webster and would like to keep in touch with my preceptor and fellow students who were on placement there with me.

December 16, 2018

Happy Holidays from the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program


May you have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope and the peace of love at Christmas and always.

Happy Holidays from the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program

December 09, 2018

SLU AT Student Finds a "Right-Sized" Clinical Experience Site at Chaminade College Prep

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Chaminade College Preparatory School
By: Scott Litwitz (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

Chaminade College Prep is a very unique clinical experience. It is a smaller, private, all-boys school that offers close working relationships with athletes and coaches. You have the ability to treat athletes from all in-season sports in the athletic training room and practices each day, as well as being present at home games for Football and Soccer in the fall. At Chaminade, we see a variety of athletes and injury levels each day before practices, and gives a great opportunity to see injuries in many types and all stages of rehabilitation.
This is my first experience at a clinical site and there are so many things that I’ve realized that make this a valuable place to start off at. There are many athletes but few events each day, so I have a lot of opportunities to see all types of athletes in the AT room, and then also to be at the big event of the day rather than just seeing practices and games for only one sport. Many of the athletes are also very dedicated to their rehabilitation and returning to play, making my role in their system easier. There are plenty of opportunities to learn from my preceptor at Chaminade, Scott Kugler ATC, treating patients and also opportunity to take the lead once he has confidence in you. There are also a handful of the same modalities at Chaminade that we are learning about in our SLU classes during the day, offering chances to practice what we are learning and being tested on being able to apply.

I believe that the environment at Chaminade is a great place for Athletic Training students to start learning and gaining confidence in their skills, while also being a fun atmosphere. I’m excited to see where Chaminade takes me for the rest of the semester, especially once the winter sports get into swing.

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.

December 08, 2018

SLU AT Students Make the Most of Their Clinical Opportunities at Affton HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Affton High School
By: Brian Leach (SLU MAT Class of 2019) and Emma Yonkers (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

Affton High has certainly kept us on our toes. From shoulder dislocations to ruptured eardrums, it is never boring at Affton. Couple this with a very knowledgeable and helpful preceptor (Becky Stigen, MS, ATC), and you have one great clinical site. Becky’s style of leadership is to put you in the driver seat of your own education, but is never far away to answer any questions you might have. This is a perfect fit for Brian because, well, he likes being in the driver seat. Baptism by fire is kind of his thing. Being in the driver seat can be uncomfortable at times, but is a necessary piece of the academic pie. He enjoys being uncomfortable because he loves growing. And we can tell we are growing a great deal this year.
Our typical day at Affton begins in the athletic training room at 2:20 pm. At 2:30, the kids get out of class and the athletes storm the room for taping, treatments, rehabs, and general advice. Then we head up the hill to either practices or games depending on the day.

Before beginning at Affton, as with most places, our main goal is to be helpful. Over the summer, Brian earned his CSCS so that he could better facilitate that goal. This has come in particularly handy in the prevention and rehab side of things as he has been granted some reasonable level of autonomy when taking the athletes through exercises. One of his goals in the short term is to help eager athletes at Affton reach their performance goals in the off season

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.

December 07, 2018

SLU AT Student Grows and Learns in Supportive Environment at Parkway West HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Parkway West High School
By: Claire Ditman (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

This August I began my first professional year in the Master of Athletic Training program at Saint Louis University. With this, I began my clinical placement at Parkway West High School under the supervision of my preceptor, Matt Berning, MAT, ATC. Although Matt is the athletic trainer at Parkway West, he works for Mercy Sports Medicine. This allows for a cool opportunity to work directly with sports medicine doctors from Mercy, as well. Because of this, we follow Mercy's protocols and standards for treatment of out athletes in order to provide the best care possible.


With an enrollment of around 1500 students, Parkway West is a large public high school with many different sports teams.  This fall we have covered thirteen different teams ranging in size from a few athletes to close to 100. With a wide variety of athletes under our care, I have gotten the opportunity to see many different injuries and go about assisting Matt in the process of helping the athlete return to play. Luckily, we have not had any life-threatening injuries yet, however, we have had quite a few concussion that have been very educational to see.


Overall, Parkway West has been a great first clinical experience and introduction to clinical work. I have already gotten lots of hands on experience and have gotten the opportunity to further my skills a great deal in a short time. Matt, as well as the coaches and athletic department at West, are great at giving students the chance to grow and learn within the profession, as well as, being welcoming and making them feel comfortable.

I could not have asked for a better first experience with clinical work!

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.