SLU AT Student's Confidence Grows Through Immersive Clinical Experience at John Hersey HS

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights, Illinois 

By: Erin Fabbri (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

My summer field experience is at John Hersey High School. I am getting a lot of experience with all different sports teams, which has been a great learning experience thus far. From injury prevention, to stretching and rehabilitation I have gotten a lot of hands on experience with the athletes. 

My preceptor, Ric Bacon, ATC quickly facilitated my adjustment to Hersey’s athletic training room. He is a great preceptor with allowing me to practice my skills and always teaching me new techniques. I am grateful I chose Hersey for the summer because I truly enjoy the high school setting and this summer is allowing me to be more comfortable with my skills. Ric has a strong passion for the high school athletes and goes above and beyond for them. Hersey is a great environment because all of the athletes are very motivated. 

I am looking forward to the rest of the summer at Hersey because I know I will learn more. At the end of this summer I will be more confident in my rehabilitation and evaluation skills. Everything I learn this summer will benefit me in the fall at another high school in St. Louis. 

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 AT Students Get a Diverse and Dynamic Learning Environment with Billiken Athletics

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Saint Louis University
By: Erin Fabbri, Rory Cusack, Grant Hollander, Matt Murphy, Adam Long, and Dimitri Kilian (SLU MAT Class of 2019), Donielle Francis, Ryan Dale and Pat O’Neill (SLU MAT Class of 2018)

The Saint Louis University Department of Athletics provides a wonderful clinical experience for all of us!

Currently three 2nd year (PY2) students and six 1st year (PY1) students with the Billikens and we have been given the opportunity to get experience with multiple Division 1 sports teams during their winter and spring seasons. Our preceptors are: Jonathan Burch, ATC, Ben Heimos, ATC, Lizzy Kienstra, ATC, Petra Knight ATC and Tammy Pastor ATC.  They have allowed each of us to have very unique clinical experiences and has exposed us to a diverse group of athletes and other health professionals.

As PY2s, we have enjoyed two wonderful semesters a SLU, which has been great for our development as future athletic trainers. We have learned so much from our respective preceptors and they have done a great job of preparing us for the real world. Our preceptors have helped us and allowed us to develop our skill set and gain more confidence by increasing our responsibilities and allowing us to learn through hands-on experience. We have also enjoyed getting a chance to interact and help mentor the PY1s. We know and understand exactly what they are going through, so we welcome the opportunity to help them grow.

As PY1s, we cover basketball, baseball, swimming and diving, and track and field. We have learned more about rehab, modalities and how to work with other athletic trainers. At this clinical site we have been exposed to more resources such as laser therapy, SwimEx, AlterG and Normatec, which can improve and expand our skill set. We have the opportunity to develop better relationships with the athletes by being able to see them daily. We have had a great experience thus far by both the preceptors and PY2s helping us build a better understanding of athletic training.

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 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!

SLU AT Students Inducted into Alpha Eta Allied Health Honor Society

The Saint Louis University chapter of Alpha Eta, the National Scholastic Honor Society for Allied Health Professions, held its annual induction ceremony in the Multipurpose Room of the Allied Health Building at Saint Louis University on November 16, 2017.

The Society is named for the Greek letters equivalent to the first letters of Allied Health (AH), which are Alpha Eta.  The purpose of the Society is the promotion and recognition of significant scholarship, leadership, and contributions to the allied health professions.

The following SLU AT students were honored in this year's ceremony:

• Alexander Hubbs - Liberty, Missouri (MAT Class of 2018)
• Erin Fabbri - Des Plaines, Illinois (MAT Class of 2019)
• Ryan Frantz - Troy, Missouri (MAT Class of 2019)
• Chris Mecherle - Bloomington, Illinois (MAT Class of 2019)
• Margaret (Maggie) Rowell - Lakewood, Ohio (MAT Class of 2019)

Congratulations to this year's Alpha Eta honorees!

SLU AT Student Finds Ample Clinical Learning Opportunities at Lindbergh HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight- Lindbergh High School
By: Erin Fabbri (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

My first clinical site for this fall semester is at Lindbergh High School. I am the first SLU AT student to be at this clinical site. I am really enjoying my experience at Lindbergh High School thus far. This fall season has been very busy with 10 sports and 25 teams in total.

My preceptor, Danielle Zee-Cheng, ATC and I get along extremely well. I have learned so much from her and she allows me to practice my AT skills on a daily basis. Each day I am there I learn something new whether it is a new injury, new evaluation, new way to tape or different stretching techniques. The athletic training room is always crowded which has allowed me to get lots of practice taping on a daily basis. Lindbergh does not have a lot of modalities so that enables me to practice my hands on skills and learn different ways to perform treatment.

I am looking forward to the rest of my semester at Lindbergh. The majority of the fall sports are ending their seasons and then winter sports will begin. I have gained great relationships with coaches and administration at Lindbergh. Lindbergh High School has been a great clinical site. 

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 Enjoys Observation in the High School Clinical Setting at Bishop DuBourg

New AT Student Blog Post - Erin Fabbri (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

This semester I have enjoyed directly observing many different PY1 and PY2 students at their various high school and collegiate clinical sites.  I had the privilege of observing Killian Hollo as a PY1 student and Olivia Robinson as a PY2 student under SSM/SLU Hospital Athletic Trainer Nathan F. Jarman MAT, ATC, LAT, CSCS, CES/PES at Bishop DuBourg HS. I experienced numerous rehab programs they did for a few of their athletes along with evaluations that occurred during the soccer games involving sprained ankles, hip flexor strain, and a head collision. One major thing that stood out to me at this clinical site is that both Killian and Olivia work with Nate to improve athletes’ strength, efficiency and workouts in the weight room. 

I learned a lot about athletic training observing at this clinical site. I felt very welcomed and was engaged the entire time. I am extremely excited to start my PY1 year at a clinical site and start practicing as an athletic training student. I am very comfortable around the high school setting but I look forward to compare the difference between the collegiate setting once I officially start clinicals. 

I loved seeing the relationships all the athletes have with Nate, Killian, and Olivia. I hopefully will be able to observe at Bishop DuBourg again before the semester ends. I have gained a lot of knowledge this semester observing as a DO student at every clinical site. Now having these connections with the older SLU AT students and preceptors will benefit me in my future.

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.

SLU Pre-Professional AT Students Enjoy their Initial Experience at the MoATA Education Conference

Missouri Athletic Trainers' Association Educators and Student Leadership Conference
By: Erin Fabbri and Danielle Jabczynski (MAT Class of 2019)

As pre-professional students in the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program, attending the Missouri Athletic Training Association Education Meeting in Fayette, Missouri was our first experience as to what it will be like to be an athletic trainer. It was a one day meeting on February 4, 2017. It was full of educational lectures and labs where we got to work with professional students and get hands on experience. The day ended with the MoATA Quiz Bowl, which tested our memory on anatomy and exposed to us what we will learn in our future classes. 

We learned about many things like sudden cardiac death in athletes and how to transition from academic to professional practice. We were also given a brief lecture before being able to experience hands on practice in myofascial release and kinesio-taping. Although we have not had all the classes necessary, the professional students answered any questions we had to get us through the lab portions of the day. 

Being pre-professional students at MoATA was a great experience. It provided a lot of insight about what’s to come in our future practice as athletic trainers.