SLU AT Students Enjoy a Dynamic Clinical Learning Environment with Billiken Athletics

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Saint Louis University Athletics

By: Rory Cusack, Juan Calero Alonso and Matt Murphy (MAT Class of 2019); and Mitchell Buerck, Claire Ditman, Scott Litwitz and Rachel Wilhelm (MAT Class of 2020)

Thus far, our clinical experience with Sports Medicine at Saint Louis University has been an exciting and immersive experience for those of us placed there. Being at an NCAA Division I institution with the Billiken Athletics comes with the special experience of being exposed to a population of athletes completing at a high intensity and demanding level every day. 

Having both first and second year students at the site allows for education through our preceptors and each other, thus furthering our clinical skills while applying new knowledge from the classroom. We each work with a specific few teams under our preceptor, but also get the opportunity to experience other sports and athletes while in the AT room. Our experiences can range from simple wound care to advance rehabilitation program to help an athlete return to sport. SLU Athletic Trainers Jonathan Burch ATC, Ben Heimos ATC, Petra Knight ATC, Elena Melillo ATC and Angie Wills ATC are more than supportive and knowledge preceptors that provide us with valuable resources and knowledge as we continue our education to be Certified Athletic Trainers. 

Additionally, SLU as a clinical site allows for the opportunity with work a large array of resources. As students, we get the opportunity to utilize many modalities and exercise equipment including LASER, ultrasound, electrotherapy, game ready, Normatek, cold tubs and SwimEx, as well as, a fully equipped weight room across the hallway. This equipment allows us to learn, gain confident and diversify our treatment program for athletes. We also have access to strength and conditioning coaches, sports nutritionist, and physical therapy to collaborate with in order to provide the best quality care possible.

Overall, SLU is a clinical site that offers students many different hands on experience in order to advance their skills and  knowledge for the day they become certified 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.

Athlone Student Appreciates New Experiences at Saint Louis University and DeSmet Jesuit High School

International Clinical Exchange - Saint Louis University and Athlone Institute of Technology

By: Adam Whelehan (Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy Student, Athlone Institute of Technology)

While being here in St. Louis my clinical placement site was in DeSmet Jesuit High School in Creve Coeur. My time was spent with one of the PY1s in the master’s program Mitch Buerck. Under our preceptor Dan Herrin ATC, from Mercy Sports Medicine, we got loads of hands on experience both on the field and in the clinical setting. During my time here, I got to experience a variety of different sports such as American football, soccer, basketball and wrestling, all of which have different demands. We got to see a wide range of injuries and also got an opportunity to work with a variety of athletes.

Before coming here and beginning clinicals there were certain fields in AT that I wanted to get more comfortable doing such as rehab, concussion protocols and different treatment techniques that aren’t widely available in Ireland. By being in a high school for the 16 weeks, I believe it was the best way to improve all of these skills as I actually was given the freedom to practice by my preceptor, Dan, who helped me every step of the way and never made me feel like there was such thing as a stupid question. Personally, I cannot say a bad word about my preceptor as he always gave me something to do and is an advocate for students getting hands on experience in every aspect of athletic training. I also learned invaluable rehab skills in class with SLU AT faculty member Mike Markee PT, ATC, who always made sure we were included in the class discussions and were up to date with what was going on.

At DeSmet, our football team won the district final but were sadly beaten by nationally ranked side CBC in the State quarterfinals. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the payers on the team and have no doubt that they will be back again next year striving to go a little bit further. Our soccer team perhaps had the biggest success reaching the state final this year and during my time here I was put in charge of looking after most of the players and as a result I built a good solid relationship with them. Before I finished my time in De Smet I got the opportunity to work with the basketball team and I have a strong feeling they could go all the way this year considering the talent that was on display during my first home game against Borgia.

One thing I will never forget is experiencing my first high school football game and the hype that comes with it. The same can be said for soccer, but I feel like getting the opportunity to see behind the scenes in STLFC was a bigger deal for myself as soccer is one of my favourite sports back home.

During our time here, we also got the opportunity to get a tour of the Cardinals home, Busch Stadium, where we got a tour from one of the athletic trainers and got to see how they work during the season both at home and on the road.

My time at DeSmet was definitely the highlight of this entire experience as I got to meet some great people there who made me feel like part of the ‘D-Block’ family. I definitely will keep in touch with my preceptor and Mitch when I return to Ireland and hope they come to Ireland some day or I return to St. Louis.

Also, during our time here, we got some placement with the women’s basketball in SLU on week 10 and although we didn’t really get any hands-on experience in the university it was nice to use it as a comparison to how our college in Ireland is ran and also versus how a high school is set up.

In conclusion I feel my time here was definitely beneficial especially getting great hands on experience in the high school and being able to learn from Dan and Mitch every day about the way Americans run their practices and deal with certain injuries. I really enjoyed the past few months meeting new people and definitely feel like I have made some long-lasting friends here in St. Louis. 

SLU AT Student Appreciates Busy Learning Environment at DeSmet Jesuit High School

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - DeSmet Jesuit High School

By: Mitchell Buerck (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

In my first year in the professional phase of the SLU Athletic Training Program, I have been assigned to DeSmet Jesuit High School. At DeSmet, Daniel Herrin, MAT, ATC is my preceptor and works for Mercy Sports Medicine. He is also a SLU alumni and has been at DeSmet for three years with previously working at Mizzou. I am also there with Adam Whelehan, a student from Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland for the semester. During this semester so far, we have looked after athletes from the football, soccer, cross country, and swimming and diving. As fall sports end, we will have basketball and wrestling as winter sports.

Being my first year of the professional phase, I am experiencing a lot of new things. My favorite part of this experience is being in the athletic training room after their school lets out, even with it being very hectic. This is where I can put my skills to use and learn new skills as well, such as taping, getting an athletes history, figuring out a plan of action, and much more.

With learning and having more experiences, my confidence in helping the athletes has gone up tremendously and will continue to grow. Overall, DeSmet Jesuit High School has given me a great experience and I’m excited to keep working hard and learning more while I am there.

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.

SLU Pre-professional AT Student Reflects on Spring Experiences as She Looks Forward to the Future

New AT Student Blog Post - Claire Ditman (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

As I am wrapping up my third year in the SLU Athletic Training program and looking ahead to what will come next, I am reflecting on the experiences I have had so far within the program.

This year I was able to participate in Directed Observation hours in order to get a better understanding of what my future would look like as an athletic trainer. I also was a great opportunity to get to know older students in the program and get their advice on how to best succeed in the program. While at the sites, I was able to meet many of the preceptors that I could potentially be working under next year. This was awesome to get to know them before hand and get a grasp on what my clinical experiences will be like next year. 

A few of the sites I was able to attend were Fontbonne University with PY1 Chase Long, WashU with PY2 Jenna Ginsberg, the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, and SLU Club Hockey games. Fontbonne and WashU were great experiences to see how a college athletic training room functions as at this point in my education, I am interested in college athletic training. They also were great about explain what they were doing and telling me in which class I would get to learn more about it. The MVC tournament was a fun experience in which I got to see how a large-scale event works in terms of taking care of the athletes, as well as, it was cool to be on the sidelines of a Bradley University game as I grew up watching their games. Finally, SLU hockey was an eye open experience to see the difference that occur when treating athletes in a ice rink. 

This semester has made me excited to enter the professional phase of the program and begin getting hands on experience. It has prepared me a great deal for the fall and I know this summer will prepare me even more. Although I am slightly nervous for Gross Anatomy this summer, I am more excited for the experience and feel it will benefit me greatly. Plus I will get to spend the summer getting to know my classmates that I will be spending a lot of time with the next two years!

This is one of a series of blog posts written by students entering the professional phase of the SLU AT Program as a part of MAT 3000 - AT Student Development II.

SLU Pre-professional AT Student Appreciates Directed Observation Experiences in Preparation for the Next Stage of the Program

New AT Student Blog Post - Mitchell Buerck (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

Going into Junior year, I was a bit nervous with Directed Observation (DO) hours and the last year before becoming a Professional Year (PY) student. It all changed going to my first DO experience with PY2 student Caitlyn Gibson, PY1 student Danielle Jabczynski, and Dean Tiffany ATC, the athletic trainer at John Burroughs. The AT room there was so different than anything I’d ever seen. Going there was definitely an eye opener and I’m very thankful for the experience.

What really got me excited for going into professional phase was the NCAA Gymnastics championship. I’ve never had experience with gymnastics before and I didn’t know much about it and thought that I wouldn’t enjoy it all too much, but doing DO hours there really changed my mind. It was very fast paced with everything going on and a different atmosphere that I’d never seen before. It was nice having PY1 student Jazmon Carroll to explain how everything worked and AT faculty member Dr. Timothy Howell make me feel welcomed and talk about the next two years of the program. It was a great experience that I’ll never forget and would love to do more events like that again.

I think doing DO hours really helped me with what I will be doing the next two years and what I need to learn to become the AT I want to be. Talking with the older students about gross anatomy really made me feel better knowing that if they can do it, so can I. The DO hours gave me a head start for my PY years and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store.

This is one of a series of blog posts written by students entering the professional phase of the SLU AT Program as a part of MAT 3000 - AT Student Development II.

SLU AT Students Conduct Workshop on Sports Medicine Skills for 2nd Year Medical Students

Athletic Training Sports Medicine Night with SLU 2nd Year Medical Students

By: Bridget Bushong (SLU MAT Class of 2018)

The Saint Louis University Athletic Training Society hosted a sports medicine night with second year medical students who have an interest in sports medicine. This workshop had three stations, run by Professional Year 2 (PY2) and 1 (PY1) students in the AT program, for the students to rotate through during the event. The stations included concussion testing, ankle taping and emergency spine boarding. While the PY2s were the group leaders, there were also several PY1s assisting during the sessions as well as undergraduate students who were models for taping and spine boarding.

This event is a great way to collaborate with other medical professionals and increase patient care by having an interprofessional team assisting with the care. While ATs are specifically trained to diagnosis, treat and manage concussions, apply assistive taping and handle emergency spine boarding situations it is important for other medical professionals to understand and be able to assist if necessary. The 2nd year medical students had great questions during each session that showed they were extremely interested in the sports medicine field. 

Overall this event was a huge success for spreading knowledge about the athletic training profession and building interprofessional teamwork. The group leaders for the concussion session were Killian Hollo, Adam Long and Paul Lamb. Group leaders for the taping session were Madeleine Bresnahan, Erin Fabbri and Rory Cusack. Taping Models were Claire Ditman and Cheyenne Meinershagen. The group leaders for the spine boarding were Bridget Bushong, Jenna Ginsberg and Ben Wildman, models included Mitchell Buerck and Allison Stefan.

A big thank you to all of those who participated in the event!