SLU AT Student Appreciates Opportunity to Practice Clinical Assessment Skills at Chaminade College Prep

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Chaminade College Preparatory School

By: Justin Durham (MAT Class of 2020) 

Chaminade College Prep has been a great experience and has given me the opportunity to further my skills. Scott Kugler ATC is my preceptor at Chaminade and has helped me whenever I need it and explains his thought process on certain situations as well as his process on evaluations.

I have had multiple opportunities to practice evaluations and well as help athletes in their rehab programs. Starting my clinical rotation at Chaminade I did not have much experience going through evaluations start to finish so my experience so far has really helped.

Most evaluations I have performed were on the lower extremities and only a couple for upper extremities. One of the biggest things I have learned from going through the evaluations is to really think about the questions you want to ask in the history so you can get a whole picture of what happened and what may be wrong.

My experience so far is that some athletes will come in and immediately tell you anything and everything about what happened while others are really quiet and you have to ask multiple questions to get a glimpse at what is going on. Another thing I have really tried to work on with my evaluations is being systematic and knowing what I want to do so that I do not forget anything. 

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 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.

SLU Pre-professional AT Student Appreciates Trust Between Preceptor and Students at Chaminade College Prep

New AT Student Blog Post - Marissa Burch (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

When I think back to my days as a high school student, I think of all those who made an impact on my experience. Teachers, friends, coaches, anyone who helped to shape the person I became at graduation. Some of my favorite moments came from the sidelines during football games with the Athletic Trainer. Although my high school does not have a full-time Athletic Trainer, we were able to bring an AT in to do game coverage. Even in the short amount of time I was able to spend with him, I learned a lot about the profession and what it entails. I felt this same excitement as I observed in high schools this semester, particularly with Scott Kugler ATC at Chaminade College Preparatory. 

Having the opportunity to observe Scott was an absolute honor. He has been an Athletic Trainer at Chaminade for over 10 years, which has allowed him to gain the trust of the athletes he treats and the coaches with which he interacts. One of my favorite things about Scott’s relationship with the athletes is when one also happens to be a student in his Anatomy course. He is constantly trying to teach and encourage these athletes. If one of his students comes in with an injury, he quizzes the student on what could possibly be affected, depending on the area that is injured. Pushing these athletes and others to be the best version of themselves, building a relationship with the athletes seems to come naturally. 

Learning the importance of a developed relationship with those you treat and interact with was definitely one of the most important things I observed. However, it was not the only thing I was able to learn while at Chaminade. Scott made sure to always explain what he was doing and why. He ensured that I knew what was going on, even if I may not understand everything about it. Observing in Athletic Training rooms these past several months brought me great humility, as it reminded me that we, both as individuals and the profession as a whole, are always growing and learning. Our work as Athletic Trainers is exciting and can make a huge difference in the lives of the athletes we treat.  

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 Student Appreciates the Importance of Communication at Chaminade College Prep

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Chaminade College Prep

By: Jesse Schmitt (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

At Chaminade College Prep, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from head athletic trainer Scott Kugler, ATC. Scott is a great mentor, who gives me a lot of freedom when it comes to evaluating and rehabilitating student athletes. During my time at Chaminade I have learned that patience and communication are vital. When I first started all I wanted to do was evaluate and diagnose athletes, because becoming a better evaluator was one of my goals for the semester. I quickly learned from observing Scott, and doing a few evaluations of my own, that it’s not about only one thing. In order to become a better evaluator I needed to slow down and make sure that I had gained all the information necessary to move on to the next step of the evaluation process. It was an important building block for me because learning this new skill allowed for me to not only provide an accurate diagnosis, but it also allowed for me to rule out other differential diagnoses. I’m still learning new tricks of the trade, but I feel that personally I get better with every evaluation because I’ve learned to challenge myself.

I have also learned how important it is to be a good communicator. By observing Scott, I have been able to pick up on some key conversations he has with his athletes, coaches, administrators, and other athletic trainers. I’ve learned that it is important to be able to explain what it is we are doing, seeing, or feeling to athletes that have questions because it allows for them to buy-in to what we are doing. I’ve also learned that keeping a dialog with the coaches about players’ health, how a rehab is going, or certain preventative measures athletes should be taking both in season and out of season. I have also picked up on conversations Scott has had with administration or other athletic trainers about different ways to update the Chaminade athletic training room, and why these upgrades might be necessary.

Overall, my time at Chaminade has been quite a learning experience. I try to challenge myself each day by asking Scott different questions and trying to pick his brain about what it takes to be a certified athletic trainer. Chaminade is a great environment for students like myself to gain knowledge and expand upon their skills.

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.