SLU AT Students Appreciate the Support of Preceptor and Student-Athletes at Bishop DuBourg HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Bishop DuBourg
By:  CJ Butler (SLU MAT Class of 2018) and Justin Ullom (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

Compared to the fall season, Bishop DuBourg High School does not have as many winter sports, so there are not as many events during the winter season. However, this allowed us to form an close relationship with our preceptor Nathan Jarman ATC, from SSM-SLU Hospital, the athletes participating in sports.

These relationships we formed seemed to help make any evaluations and rehabilitation programs we did go much smoother, as we were able to build trusting relationships with the individuals on the teams. There were no significant injuries during the season, luckily, so most tasks that were completed were simply helping with chronic pain issues and muscular fatigue injuries often associated with the end of the season in any sport.

We also were able to work with the girls soccer team in their off-season development in order to prepare them for the eminent season. We spent weeks working on their cardiovascular endurance and their form for various lifts before we eventually progressed into working sprints and letting them lift with weight. Prior to tryouts for the season starting, we were able to get in about two good weeks of strength training to those players that were showing up.

As tryouts for spring sports have started, we are now beginning to work with the boys basketball team with a strength training program. It will be interesting to see if they can make the same amount of progress that the girls team did. We look forward to working with a more variety of sports this spring, as well as helping out with strength training programs for any off-season teams.

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.

Irish Exchange Students from Athlone Institute of Technology Build AT Clinical Skills and More at Saint Louis University

International Clinical Exchange - SLU and Athlone Institute of Technology

By: Jason Kenny and Jordan Finnegan (Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy students - Athlone Institute of Technology, Ireland)

Having being allowed the opportunity to further our athletic training skills abroad from our college in Ireland, we found ourselves in Saint Louis University thanks to the hard work of SLU faculty Dr. Tim Howell and Dr. Tony Breitbach. Having come here expecting to gain clinical experience we have managed to walk away with much more.

Coming from Ireland we got the opportunity to work with many sports we wouldn’t be familiar with such as volleyball, basketball and American football. This exposed us to many injuries we wouldn’t normally see back home.  Our day usually started early in the morning in the Chaifetz arena. We worked closely with many teams, in particular the volleyball team thanks to Tammy Pastor ATC. We participated in many different master program classes. We further improved our understanding of rehabilitation and treatment techniques, while also becoming great friends with our fellow peers.

We were at Bishop DuBourg High School under the guidance of our preceptor Nate Jarman MAT, ATC who was excellent at furthering our knowledge in clinical reasoning, rehabilitation and strength and conditioning. We can’t thank Nate enough for the exposure he let us have while working under him. Having never thought about working at a high school it turned out to be our most enjoyable experience as an Athletic Training student and is a place we could see ourselves working in the future. We worked alongside fellow students Cat Chua and C.J. Butler where we shared our knowledge and experiences over the 4 months. (They were also the cheapest taxis in St. Louis!).

The list of things we accomplished and stories we have to tell could go on and on. From playing Gaelic football and Rugby each week, to taping Ironman’s ankles at the Marvel Universe Live Show! The friendships we have made will last a lifetime and this is an open invite for any of you to come visit us. Hopefully we will be remembered for more than just our social festivities around St. Louis. 

The only disappointing aspect of our time here is that it unfortunately has to come to an end.

Thanks for everything St. Louis!

SLU AT Students Get a Multicultural Sports Medicine Experience at Bishop DuBourg High School

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Bishop DuBourg High School

By: CJ Butler (SLU MAT Class of 2018) and Cat Chua (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

This semester at Bishop DuBourg High School we have had the opportunity to not only increase our academic knowledge of athletic training but also our cultural knowledge. Initially we worked with Pablo Merino and Juan Miguel Rodriguez Perez, two physiotherapy students from Camilo Jose Cela University in Madrid Spain. They taught us a lot about the differences in medicine in Spain compared to the U.S. and other techniques that we can use to give our patients the best possible care. After Pablo and Juanmi left, two athletic training students from Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland, Jason Kenny and Jordan Finnegan, are with us for the rest of the semester. It has been a great learning experience for both of us to get different viewpoints and practices from these different cultures.

Our preceptor, Nate Jarman, MAT, ATC, LAT, CSCS, CES/PES, who works at Bishop DuBourg through SSM Health/SLU Hospital, has also helped us learn a lot, especially when it comes to strength and conditioning. He recently started a summer strengthening course for athletes to participate in, which has shown us how year round training affects the athlete’s performance and health. We are constantly quizzed and taught new ideas from Nate who takes a full body approach in the rehabilitation of injured athletes.

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.

UCJC Clinical Exchange Students Have Memorable American Experience at SLU and Bishop DuBourg HS

Our Experience in the United States

By: Pablo Merino and Juan Miguel Rodríguez Pérez

Our trip to USA more than worthwhile. We experienced what being an athletic trainer is, which similarities and differences exist between physical therapist and athletic trainers, and how important both are. As main differences, we can say that as an athletic trainer, you’ll have the opportunity to manage as well emergency and first aid. We were lucky enough (sadly, not the athletes) to experience problems that ranged from simple bruises to fractures or concussions that cerebral edema complications. We also had the opportunity to learn how to put on stiches and knots on…bananas!

Athletic trainers are very different from anything we know in Spain. They take care from first aid to return to play as well as prevention and counselling, also spotting psychological issues that that players may be withstanding, using very different approach to what we know in Spain. You’ll be surprised in the way injuries are managed here, not better or worse, just different. Just make sure you have your taping, stretching and functional exercise notes handy!

It is also a great opportunity to practice your English, to laugh about each other’s funny accents and weird words spoken. As travel-lovers, we enjoyed spending our weekends and some holydays visiting some of the most emblematic USA places such as Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Las Vegas, Yosemite Park, Grand Canyon, San Francisco or Los Angeles. We had the chance to enjoy sports we don’t have back in Spain such as Football (American, not the true one though) and Baseball. But, spoiler Alert! Sadly, as far as we got to know, you won’t be allowed to visit any stadium offseason. 

We were able to share knowledge across east to west and vice versa. 

This experience was so enriching not only professionally but personally. We had the very luck to meet Nate Jarman, Severyn Jarman, C.J Butler and Cat Chua. This people here were not only happy to teach and learn with an open mind, but embraced us both with open hearts. 

This experience has taught us far beyond what physical therapy and athletic training is, showing us what a great country and people the USA can harbor. I can assure this experience would’ve been so very different (in a bad way) if these people hadn’t been there, inside and/or outside the professional environment. I would like to cash in on this words to thank Tammy Pastor for taking care of us in SLU no matter it wasn’t her job at all, and drove us around college Athletic Trainer experience. And last but not least, thanks Dr. Tony Breitbach and Alvaro García-Romero for making this experience come true!

Nuestra experiencia en los Estados Unidos

Por: Pablo Merino y Juan Miguel Rodríguez Pérez

Nuestro viaje a Estados Unidos ha merecido mucho la pena. Hemos experimentado lo que es ser un Athletic Trainer, pudiendo comprobar las similitudes y diferencias que existen entre el fisioterapeuta y el Athletic Trainer, así como cuál es su papel en el deporte y lo importantes que son. Como principales diferencias, podemos decir que un Athletic Trainer tiene la posibilidad de manejar situaciones de emergencia y primeros auxilios. Tuvimos la suerte (no se puede decir lo mismo de los atletas) de ver situaciones que van desde pequeños hematomas a fracturas y conmociones cerebrales con las complicaciones del edema cerebral. También tuvimos la oportunidad de aprender cómo coser y grapar heridas abiertas… en plátanos!!!

Los Athletics Trainers son muy diferentes a lo que tenemos entendido en España. No solo se encargan de la asistencia de primeros auxilios durante el partido, para la vuelta al terreno de juego, sino que además realizan la prevención y el asesoramiento individual de cada atleta, detectando también los problemas psicológicos que les pueden afectar y utilizando un enfoque muy diferente de lo que sabemos en España para solucionarlo. Uno se sorprende de la forma en que las lesiones se manejan en EEUU, no mejor ni peor, sólo diferente. Solo hay que asegurarse de tener a mano todos los conocimientos y apuntes sobre estiramientos, ejercicio funcional y propiocepción.

También es una gran oportunidad para practicar el inglés, para reírse de los acentos divertidos y las palabras extrañas que puede llegar a decir cada uno, con la correspondiente risa de los americanos. Como amantes de los viajes, cada fin de semana, y algunos días de vacaciones después, hemos disfrutado de multitud de aventuras visitando algunos de los lugares más emblemáticos de los Estados Unidos como Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Las Vegas, Yosemite Park, El Gran Cañón, San Francisco o Los Ángeles. Tuvimos la oportunidad de disfrutar de deportes que no tenemos en España, como el fútbol (el americano, no el verdadero) y el béisbol. Pero una cosa más (Alerta), lamentablemente no se permite visitar cualquier estadio de estos deportes fuera de la temporada. 

Esta experiencia no solo fue enriquecedora profesionalmente, pudiendo compartir multitud de conocimientos, sino también personalmente. Tuvimos la suerte de conocer a Nate Jarman, Severyn Jarman ATC, C.J. Butler y Cat Chua, a los que agradecemos muchas cosas. Esta gente no solo nos enseñó cada día cosas nuevas, siempre con una sonrisa, sino que nos acogió desde el principio y nos trataron siempre como a uno más.  Además de la fisioterapia y el Athletic Trainer, nos han dado la oportunidad de conocer como es ese gran país y la gente de EEUU.

Puedo asegurar que esta experiencia hubiera sido muy diferente (peor), si estas personas no hubieran estado allí con nosotros, dentro y/o fuera del ambiente profesional. Me gustaría sacar provecho de estas palabras para agradecer también a Tammy Pastor ATC su trabajo y por acogernos y cuidar de nosotros en SLU.  A pesar de que no era su trabajo ni su obligación en absoluto, nos llevó por la universidad para que pudiéramos experimentar lo que es ser un Athletic Trainer. 

Por último, y no menos importante, dar las gracias a Dr. Tony Breitbach y Álvaro García Romero por hacer realizad esta gran experiencia. 

SLU AT Student Benefits from Multidisciplinary Approach at Mercy Sports Medicine

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - Mercy Sports Medicine

By: C.J. Butler (SLU MAT Class of 2018)

This summer I’ve have been lucky enough to work with Dr. Brian Mahaffey and the Mercy Sports Medicine team. Dr. Mahaffey is a primary care sports medicine physician who sees athletes varying in age, sport and skillset. He uses his knowledge and expertise to avoid surgery as much as possible and by using functional movement screening and the full body approach find “the why” for an injury. This has taught me a lot about rehabilitation for injuries and how important it is to find the underlying cause of the problem and fix it so it won’t continue to come back.

One of my main goals for this summer was to learn the clinical side of sports medicine and what I, as a future athletic trainer, could do to increase the efficiency of patient care. I have been able to see how Dr. Mahaffey uses the multidisciplinary team around him, including athletic trainers, physical therapists and other specialists. Since the clinic is directly attached to a rehabilitation center there is constant communication between the team to insure that the patients are on the right track at all times. This patient centered approach not only gets the athletes physically and emotionally back to where they were before, but the ability to be even better.

Students in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program have an immersive field experience in the summer between their two professional years in the program. This blog post details a student's reflection on their experience.

SLU AT Students Engage with Faculty Courtside at Nike Elite 100 Basketball Camp

Every June for the last 17 years, the campus of Saint Louis University has welcomed approximately 100 of the top men's basketball student-athletes aged 16 and under from across the country for Nike's Elite 100 Basketball Camp. 

The SLU AT  Program provides medical care for the camp, which creates a great opportunity for Faculty, Staff and Students to collaborate in a clinical context.  

At this camp, the licensed faculty and staff AT's empower the students to "learn by doing", making the most of the opportunities to interact, debrief and reflect on the experience.

During this year's Elite 100, the NBA draft was held, and many of the former players from the camp were drafted by NBA teams.  NBA legend Rasheed Wallace served as a coach at the camp.

We appreciate this opportunity to engage and learn in an enjoyable setting.

SLU Pre-professional AT Student Finds Excellent Role Models at Missouri Baptist University

New AT Student Blog Post - Ryan Frantz (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

This spring, I had the opportunity to go and observe many different clinical sites in the Saint Louis area to increase my understanding of what it means to be an athletic trainer. Of the clinical sites visited, I found myself returning to Missouri Baptist most often. Ashley Broughton, MS, ATC and the PY1 students allowed me to practice my taping on them and provided advice as to how I could improve my work. Over the course of this semester, I have to say the success I have had at strengthening my taping abilities was greatly contributed to by those at Missouri Baptist. Observing at Missouri Baptist also provided a great opportunity to learn about the different types of technology used in the field, such as Normatek, ultrasound, and many others. Having little to no knowledge of such equipment, I was provided a quality introduction to how a lot of the technologies work which should prepare me for my future education.

Missouri Baptist and its athletic training staff are great role models for how I would like to be when I begin practicing. Ashley was able to teach me so much while I was there, and she allowed me to ask as many questions as I could while answering them to the best of her knowledge to help me. Every time I entered the athletic training room, I always felt very welcomed by everybody there, and each day, I always expected to learn something new that I had never expected to learn about. From my observations here and at all other sites, I haven’t decided whether I would rather work with high schools or colleges, but I do have higher hopes leading in to the first professional phase and clinical site.

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 Get Multiple Experiences in a Busy Clinical Site at Missouri Baptist University

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Missouri Baptist University

by Bridget Bushong, CJ Butler, Ryan Dale, and Ben Wildman (MAT Class of 2018)

Bridget Bushong - I am with the baseball team. Because there are so many athletes I get to see a wide variety of injuries and consequently, treatments. MoBap has many different modalities so I'm able to practice using them for different purposes. Being at a university has shown me a different side of athletic training because they have so many different team physicians they use. This semester I have been able to expand my skills in rehab and stretching techniques also. MoBap is a nice clinical site to be at this semester because I am learning so much and getting more hands on experience.

CJ Butler -  I am with the Missouri Baptist University wrestling team. Wrestling has been an interesting sport to cover from an athletic training standpoint because the athletes put tremendous strain on their body day after day with live wrestling, little rest and pushing through pain. They also are constantly trying to cut weight so helping them manage that in the best way possible has been challenging. This semester we have been learning the physiology and different methods for stretching and rehabilitation and I have been able to apply these functionally at MoBap nearly every day with battling frequent soreness and injuries to the athletes. My taping ability has also improved and I have started becoming more creative in the ways I tape. Wrestling causes almost any tape or wound care we apply to get damaged or come off, so learning how to quickly tape and get them back in while also using techniques that are durable has been essential. MoBap has been a change from my last site when our hands were the only modalities we had whereas I have been able to use Game Ready, cupping, estim, ultrasound, combo, scrapping, Normatec and ice baths daily. 

Ryan Dale - I have been working with the Men's Basketball, Men's Track, and Softball teams at MBU this semester. Most of my time outside of the Athletic Training Room has been spent covering Basketball games and practices, which has been exciting. I have really gotten to know the team well, and have formed trusting relationships with them. While working in the Athletic Training Room my focus with the Basketball players has primarily been assisting my preceptor (Ashley Broughton, MS, ATC) in keeping everyone healthy; We achieved this through preventative measures such as taping the athletes before games and practices and by providing plenty of postgame treatments on sore/injured areas. With Men's Track I have worked extensively with them on injury prevention through stretching and heating before practice as well as addressing any injuries before they become serious problems. Also there are a couple of injured athletes that I have been working with everyday to help them return to action. I have not worked with Softball too much yet, because I have been so busy with Basketball, but I look forward to helping them stay healthy and getting to know them. Overall I have gained a great amount of valuable experience and I have had a good time while doing it.

Ben Wildman - I am with Men's Lacrosse, Women's Track and Field, and Women's Cross-Country this semester under the guidance of my preceptor, Jamie Herron, MS, ATC, at Missouri Baptist University. Most of my time at MoBap has been split between covering Men's Lacrosse practice and spending time in the Athletic Training Room. At practices we mostly address acute injuries and stretch our athletes. After practices we return to the ATR where I complete evaluations, apply manual therapies to aid the athletes in recovering, and do rehabilitative exercises and treatments. Our athletes are required to complete weekly bands which are preventative exercises that have been selected and catered towards their respective sport. Some of these bands emphasize prevention for ACL injuries, shin splints, and shoulder instability. These are injuries that can be considered rather common to the nature of the game of lacrosse. Therefore, preventing them through strengthening and ear1y intervention is essential. I have learned different manual therapy techniques such as myofascial release through scraping, cupping, and massage. I apply these techniques on a daily basis with our athletes to aid in recovery, pain management, and rehabilitation. My time thus far at MoBap has proven to be very educational, challenging, and fun.

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 AT Students "Use Their Head" at Healthfest

On Saturday, November 17, 2012; the SLU AT Program participated in Healthfest at the St. Louis Louis Science Center.  Healthfest features dozens of interactive displays and presentations from community medical organizations for families on important health topics. 

This year’s topic for the SLU AT Program was concussion awareness where parents and children we informed of the importance of paying attention to the symptoms of traumatic head injury.  Information was also presented regarding the AT profession and the AT’s role in managing concussion and injury in sports.

This was a student-directed activity coordinated by SLATS, our student organization, and was designed to include a wide variety of students from our program.

 

The students participating were:

MAT Class of 2013: Lizzy Kienstra, Alex Sawyer, Adriana Black, Mary Finkenkeller

MAT Class of 2014: Emily Grace, Dre Auclair, Jay Maturan, Mary Rhatigan, Kelley DeGreeff

MAT Class of 2015: Andria Lampe, Kayla Kelley

MAT Class of 2016: Haylie Dehm, Nygel Williams, AJ Butler, Candie Hill

MAT Class of 2017: Collin Peterson, Kayla Glenn, Stephanie Ross

SLU AT Faculty and Students Rock and Roll!

Faculty and students of the SLU Athletic Training Program participated as medical volunteers and runners in the 2nd annual TASK Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Louis Marathon & ½ Marathon presented by the Quinn Family Charitable Fund on Sunday, October 21, 2012.

SLU AT students Dan Herrin and Kelley DeGreeff (MAT Class of 2014) relax after  finishing the Rock and Roll half-marathon.

The following members of the SLU AT program served as medical volunteers for the 2012 Rock & Roll Marathon:

Dr. Kitty Newsham (faculty member)

Dr. Jason Bennett (faculty member)

Emily Grace (MAT Class of 2014)

Alex Sawyer (MAT Class of 2013)

Mary Rhatigan (MAT Class of 2014)

Katie Herington (MAT Class of 2013)

Hayley Dehm (MAT Class of 2016)

Andria Lampe (MAT Class of 2015)

Sarah Hall (MAT Class of 2013)

AJ Butler (MAT Class of 2016)