SLU AT Students Enjoy Learning in Dynamic Clinical Environment with Washington University Athletics

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Washington University Athletics
By: Mitchell Buerck, Maria Lingardo, Allison Stefan (MAT Class of 2020) and  
Maddie Bozych, Kaylla Juarez, Allison Stefan, Joey Wenzl (MAT Class of 2021)

At Washington University, we are fortunate to learn from four highly experienced athletic trainers while having access to amazing facilities and equipment. The semester there are three PY1’s, Maddie Bozych, Kaylla Juarez, and Joey Wenzl , and three PY2’s, Allison Stefan, Mitchell Buerck, and Maria Lingardo. The six of us have the opportunity to cover a well-respected Division 3 football program that is composed of great athletes who are appreciative of our help. Each day brings new learning opportunities in the fast paced world of football. Each week brings new injuries which we get to evaluate and treat with a multitude of modalities, and create rehab programs to get them back to play.

To prepare for practices and games, we use modalities such as electrical stim, laser, game ready, alter-G, and an underwater treadmill to treat and rehab our athletes to ensure they can play at their fullest potential. During games we are able to efficiently and effectively use the skills we have learned from Grant Rohrig, MAT, ATC, (our preceptor) and through our SLU AT program to help evaluate and treat our athletes to assist them to quickly get back to the game. During our clinical rotation we all get the opportunity to travel with the football team. During travel trips we get more exposure of what it may be like to have a career in a college or professional sports team setting. These trips present us a chance to use our skills in an environment that is different than our usual AT room that doesn’t have all the great modalities. It forces us to adapt to use what we have at our disposal.

As stated earlier, at WashU we get to learn and observe from four different certified athletic trainers who all come from unique backgrounds and levels of experience. Rick Larsen, MS, ATC, Jim Anderson, BS, ATC, Mary Collins, MAT, ATC and Grant Rohrig, MAT, ATC  give four perspectives on taping techniques, injury evaluations, and rehabilitation programs. There is a great balance between teaching by example, and letting us learn on our own. By letting us learn on our own, while they are overseeing, they challenge us to use the knowledge we’ve learned to make rehab and treatment decisions for our athletes. We all are looking forward to the rest of the semester and seeing how our skills improve.

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.