SLU AT Students Enjoy Immersive Clinical Experience in the SEC at Ole Miss

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - University of Mississippi Athletics - Oxford, MS
By: Jazmon Carroll and Catherine Chua  (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

We have had the pleasure of having a summer field experience at the University of Mississippi under preceptor Corbit Franks ATC. Franks has provided us with a well-rounded and unique exposure with NCAA Division I Athletics in the Southeastern Conference. The bulk of our time has been spent preparing the Women’s Soccer team for their season this fall. We deal with pre-practice treatments, practice and workout coverage, hydration and helping with any other complaints of injury post practice.

Being with a single primary sport makes it easy to build rapport with the athletes and build closer bonds than we've been able to have at a smaller college. The relationship we’ve been able to build with the women’s soccer team here at Ole Miss is one of a kind and we both cherish the experience and bond with the athletes. They’ve been able to feel comfortable coming to us with any pre-existing injuries, any worries or thoughts about current training, and life in general. The ability to build these relationships will be incredibly important in the future of our profession.

We have been able to learn all parts of the athletic training here at OleMiss. Treatments, hydration, diet, along with the paperwork and office work have all been a part of the experience. We are incredibly excited to continue with the women’s soccer team through their preseason and be able to attend their first regular season game before returning to Saint Louis.

We hope to continue learning sport-specific treatments and rehabilitation for soccer and are very eager to see how this team does throughout their season!

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 and Faculty Team Up at Nike Basketball Camp

Saint Louis University's Simon Recreation Center serves as the host site for one of the nation's top basketball events each June.  

Nike invites some of the country's top high school freshmen and sophomore basketball players to the Elite 100 Basketball Camp to help them develop their skills on and off the court.  Many of the top players currently in the NBA participated in this event over the years.

Once again this year, on June 7-10, 2018, SLU Athletic Training Program faculty and students worked side by side to provide medical care for the camp.  

This provides a great clinical connection for our program, and has emerged into a tradition and gives them a common experience over the years.

We appreciate this opportunity each year to empower our students in a fun and exciting clinical environment.

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 AT Students are Excited to Learn in a Busy College Setting at Webster University

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Webster University
By: Maggie Rowell and Cat Chua (MAT Class of 2019)

We are both students in the 1st Professional Year of Saint Louis University's Master of Athletic Training Program. Our Spring 2018 clinical rotation is with Webster University Athletics. We previously were placed at high schools and are transitioning into the college AT room atmosphere. Webster University is a NCAA Division III school located in Webster Groves, Missouri. It is a liberal arts school with approximately 2,500 undergrad students who take pride in their athletic population. Within the past year, Webster has sent their women’s soccer, women’s basketball and men’s baseball to compete in the NCAA Division III Championship Series. We are working with preceptors Jennifer Popken (MS, ATC) and Martin Fields (LAT, ATC).

We were limited in the modalities available in our previous high school settings. At Webster University, we have gotten the chance to utilize GameReady, Electrical Stimulation, Hydrocollator, Ultrasound, and a HivaMat. It has been a great hands-­‐on experience working with different modalities and knowing when to apply each one in the rehabilitation process. Additionally, we have gotten the opportunity to evaluate athlete’s injuries by performing a full evaluation including general history taking, manual-­‐muscle testing, palpation, joint play and special testing. After assessing the athletes, we interact with our preceptors for additional tips, changes to the process, and any additional feedback. It is a great learning environment that encourages us to think on the spot and fully apply what we've learned in the classroom in the clinical setting.

In the upcoming months we will be taking care of spring season athletes such as baseball, softball, tennis, and outdoor track and field teams. An interesting aspect about these upcoming teams is they all practice off site, which makes scheduling very important for rehabilitation and treatment. We are both very excited as the women’s basketball just won the SLIAC conference championship and are headed to the NCAA tournament this week! With only two AT's and over 300 athletes, it has been a very busy AT room.

We are excited to continue our clinical education process and grow as Athletic Training students with the Webster Gorlocks.

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 Give Roosevelt HS Students a Day with the Billikens

Roosevelt High School Athletic Training Club

By: Cat Chua, Rory Cusack and Paul Lamb (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

On January 23rd, we took the Roosevelt High School (RHS) Athletic Training Club for a field trip to Saint Louis University (SLU). This club, sponsored by the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program and funded through an Ethnic Diversity Enhancement Grant from the National Athletic Trainers' Association Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee is designed to nurture interest in athletic training and the health professions for students at RHS.  Kemba Noel-London MAT, ATC CES coordinates the RHS AT Club along with student mentors from the SLU AT Program.

First, we took the students on a tour of the SLU athletic training room. They learned about different modalities and treatments performed in the room. They also got to meet one of the basketball players. After the tour of the training room, the students went onto the basketball court to take some pictures before the game. Then we went to Grand Hall to eat dinner. We showed videos of injuries to the students and had conversations about what an athletic trainer does in those situations. Before going to the basketball game, the students got a tour of the Simon Rec Center. At the game, the high school students got to sit in the student section where they cheered along with the rest of the SLU students and fans, received cheer items from the people leading the student section, and even met the Billiken! The basketball game field trip was a great success and so much fun for all of us.

The students were able to experience the athletic training from from an athlete’s point of view and were able to ask many questions to both the Athletic Trainer and a few athletes. The students were extremely curious as to how an Division 1 athlete juggles basketball, course work, and social life. They asked how they athlete got their scholarship and how hard they worked in high school. The students then were asking us what our thoughts on how they can get to be like those D1 athletes, or the process of walking on to a team. The students from Roosevelt are all athletes themselves, and know what hard work it takes to stay on a team and be successful. As Athletic Training students, it gave us a chance to answer questions that we normally wouldn’t get in an athletic training facility, but from high school students that are genuinely interested in what it takes to be a healthcare professional or an athlete and what life is like in college. 

Moving forward in the semester, we plan on further exposing the students to the different roles and providers on a sports medicine health care team. Over the next few meetings, the students will have the opportunity to learn more about sports performance and how athletes prepare for a game through a discussion on eating like an athlete as well as preparing for a game through a presentation on training like an athlete. An additional field trip to the SLU Anatomy Lab will be an excellent chance for club members to understand topics we’ve discussed during club meetings in a more hands-on setting. Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get the high schoolers engaged in sports medicine, and present them with opportunities to see the many ways in which it can impact their lives and the lives of the people around them. Our field trip to the SLU basketball game helped advance that goal, and with so many exciting topics ahead of us, it’s hard not to be enthusiastic about what we’ll accomplish the rest of the year with the Roosevelt High School Athletic Training club!

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 Pre-professional AT Students Reflect on Learning Experience at SLU Track and Field Invitational

New AT Student Blog Post - Catherine Chua and Sarah Menzuber (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

Along several other Athletic Training students, we had the opportunity to observe Petra Knight ATC at the SLU Track and Field meet.  We watched many different track events for the first time, such as javelin throw, shot put, and pole vault.  It was very interesting to follow Petra around and learn about the track athletes and many of the common injuries she sees as an Athletic Trainer.  Many of the athletes, especially the long-distance runners, needed to have their shins and ankles taped and roll out their leg muscles.  We learned several techniques to taping ankles, depending on if it was a medial or lateral sprain.  We saw shin splints taped, which was something unique and new that we had not seen before.

In addition to seeing many injuries taped, we were able to help out by making ice bags and handing out water to athletes after their events.  We learned how to vacuum seal the ice bag and then wrap it around wherever the athlete needed it to stay.  Fortunately, no major or life threatening injuries occurred while we were observing, except for two runners who were very winded after their events, but were doing better after sitting down to rest and drinking water.  

Overall, this was a great experience for us and we enjoyed being able to observe Petra as she has a great compassion for not only Athletic Training, but each individual athlete as well.  The SLU track and field meet was the first experience we were able to observe such a large-scale event with so many athletes and spectators. The widespread amount of “jobs” it takes to run a meet was astounding; filling water jugs, making sure water cups are on hand for the athletes, making ice bags, treating athletes and keeping an eye out for those athletes performing in their events.

We enjoyed watching the athletic trainers take care of the athletes as they came into the tent, most had just performed in their event and needed assistance with ice or stretching. Track and field athletes push their bodies so hard for a relatively short amount of time, so coming into the medical tent, it was interesting to see their reactions to needing treatment and what they wanted to be done. 

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 Collaborate with 2nd Year Medical Students for a Sports Medicine Skills Workshop

Sports Medicine Night with SLU Medical Students
By: Sarah Haenchen (SLU MAT Class of 2017)

The Saint Louis University Athletic Training Society hosted a sports medicine night with SLU first and second year medical students in the sports medicine interest group. SLATS PY2 students lead the concussion, taping and spine boarding sessions. PY1s and pre-professional students participated in the event by being models for the med students to practice the newly learned skills.

Interprofessional collaboration is an important aspect in our education. Applying our knowledge and teaching the medical students helps with creating better communication and patient outcomes. This session not only taught medical students what athletic trainers do, but the athletic training students learned how physicians can help especially if they are on the sidelines.

It was really interesting to hear the different backgrounds of some of the medical students of why they want to become physicians. Most of them were athletes too, which is why they joined the sports medicine interest group. While we provide sports medicine care, we are also trained in emergency care. A few of the medical students were EMTs and knew about spine boarding. This shows that athletic trainers may work with a variety of healthcare professionals. The better knowledge and collaboration between healthcare professionals sets up better patient outcomes.

SLATS PY2 group leaders were Danny Smith and Brandi Burgett for taping, Amelia Meigs, Collin Peterson and Sarah Haenchen for spine boarding, and Olivia Robinson and Stephanie Ross for the concussion session. Alex Hubbs and Pat O’Neill were the PY1 students and Cat Chua and Erin Fabbri were pre-professional students who helped out.