March 07, 2023

SLU AT Students share a clinical site and collaborate to provide hands-on patient care

For the Spring 2023 semester, PY 2 Giovanna Charles, PY1 Grace Golembiewski, and PY1 I-Chen (Hugo) Lee collaborated together in a shared clinical experience at John Burroughs School (JBS) under the supervision of their preceptor, Dean Tiffany, ATC.

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - John Burroughs School
By: Giovanna Charles (MAT Class of 2023), Grace Golembiewski and I-Chen Lee (MAT Class of 2024)

Gio:

During my time at John Burroughs School, JBS, I have grown and learned so much from my preceptor, Dean, as well as the PY1s with me, Grace and Hugo. After a short amount of time, I have gained Dean’s and the coach’s trust to the point where Dean allows me to do on field and court evaluations/assessments without him having to run out with me, unless it's urgent. I have been hands-on with all the sports at JBS and have been able to evaluate and/or perform special tests on the foot, ankle, hand, wrist, hamstring, knee, nose and mouth. There have also been times where I was able to perform several manual muscle tests, MMTs, concussion protocols followed by a SCAT5, as well as construct rehab plans for a variety of different injuries. With this being my last semester and looking back at all that I have accomplished, I can say that I am prepared for what’s next. I am very grateful for all the experience my preceptors and classmates have shared with me over the years and can't wait to see what the near future holds for me.


Grace:

My time at John Burroughs School has helped me grow my professional clinical skills exponentially. Right away, my evaluation and injury management skills, athletic taping skills, and injury rehabilitation skills have improved under the direction of my preceptor as well as my collaboration with my fellow student athletic trainers. For instance, collaborating with two other students at JBS with differing levels of professional experience has illustrated to me the importance of utilizing other health professionals in order to maximize the health care provided to a patient. In continuation, my preceptor does an excellent job at letting me take the lead in on and off field patient interactions, while also providing helpful, direct, positive criticism afterwards. This method of learning has greatly improved my confidence in the knowledge that I have retained and practiced so far, and also inspires confidence in what I have yet to learn in the future. Also, my preceptor’s high expectations have really enhanced my own attention to detail as I review content and prepare to head into my final year of classes at SLU.

Hugo:

This is the second high school where I have had clinical experience, and John Burroughs School has been an absolutely different experience for me. There are a lot of facilities and modalities that we are allowed to use, which provides us with more options to treat patients and also more opportunities to sharpen our skills. As this is our last semester of professional year 1, our preceptor, Dean, has allowed us to do more things if we are confident in our abilities. I will always remember the first day when he told us to act as if we were doing our own jobs. He has definitely given us confidence and more opportunities to practice.


In addition, I appreciate the overall practice environment at John Burroughs School. The students and staff all work together well and are always available to answer any questions. Building a trusting relationship like this allows us to discuss not only the injury but also the patients' mental health issues and daily quality of life. Showing concern for our patients always strengthens our bond with them. This is always a perfect working environment for me.




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.

No comments: