SLU AT Students Appreciate Trust and Support Provided by Preceptors with Billiken Athletics

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Saint Louis University Athletics
By: Juan Calero, Cat Chua, Rory Cusack, Dimitri Kilian, and Matt Murphy (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

There are five SLU AT students in their 2nd Professional Year with SLU Athletics: Juan Calero, Cat Chua, Rory Cusack, Dimitri Kilian, and Matt Murphy. Our preceptors, SLU Billikens Athletic Trainers, Jonathan Burch ATC, Ben Heimos ATC, Petra Knight ATC, Elena Melillo ATC and Angie Wills ATC have been so trusting these last two months by giving us a lot of hands on experience and giving us freedom to make our own choices in regards to treatment. This has been a great experience for all of us since we have been able to take more initiative and the athletes are treating us as an extension of our preceptors.

With all the hands-on opportunities we are given, we are enhancing our skills in manual therapy, rehabilitation, and evaluation skills. The five of us work together on some athletes and bounce ideas off of each other to try to determine the best possible treatment for that athlete. Each of us has all been exposed to a variety of different sports as well which has been helpful in enhancing our skill sets.

Overall, we are all so happy to be here with the Billikens for our clinical site and are looking forward to a great year!

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 Experience Team-Based Health Care with the Billikens

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Saint Louis University Athletics
By: Alex Hubbs and Abby Klosterman (SLU MAT Class of 2018)

Thus far, Saint Louis University Sports Medicine has been an advantageous experience for us as PY1 students in SLU’s Athletic Training Program. Being able to work with Division 1 Athletics has given us a unique exposure to a population of high intensity athletes and the demands of competing in sports at this level. In this setting, we are given the opportunity to transition our knowledge from the classroom to hands on clinical application. At SLU, Athletic Training students take on tasks ranging from acute wound care to injury evaluation to executing rehabilitation programs and more. The staff of Saint Louis University’s sport medicine department is more than supportive in encouraging us to learn from each situation that arises and expand our skill set on a daily basis. Jonathan Burch ATC, Ben Heimos ATC, Lizzy Kienstra ATC, Tammy Pastor ATC, and Petra Knight ATC, have been knowledgeable mentors and valuable resources as we pursue our journey to becoming Certified Athletic Trainers.

Additionally, Saint Louis University is a clinical site that provides Athletic Training Students with a vast array of resources. The variety of equipment available including Whirlpool, Ultrasound, Electrical Stimulation, Normatek, Game Ready, LASER, SwimEx, Alter G, etc. allows us not only to learn and gain confidence with using modalities, but to diversify treatments and rehabilitation plans for our athletes. Access to Physical Therapists, Sports Nutritionists, and Sports Performance Coaches also contribute to our growth and development as health care professionals and aid us in learning how to be successful in caring for our athletes.

Overall, SLU is a clinical site that offers a well-­rounded experience and allows for hands on involvement to practice and develop skills that can be applied to future practice.  

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 Gets Experience with Multiple Preceptors and Sports with SLU Athletics

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Saint Louis University Athletics

By: Michael Milek (SLU MAT Class of 2018)

My clinical site for this semester is with Saint Louis University Athletics. SLU is an NCAA Division I school in the Atlantic 10 Conference, so there is plenty to do with all the fall sports in full go and the winter/spring sports starting to practice for their respective seasons.  I have the opportunity to work with Jonathan Burch ATC and all of the other 4 athletic trainers in the Chaifetz Arena Athletic Training Facility learning from each of them. I have been able work and treat athletes from the men's and women’s soccer teams, men's and women’s basketball teams, the volleyball team, and the field hockey team. 

While at SLU, I also access to the top of line modalities, including laser, and have had a ton of opportunities to use them. The best thing so far has been being able to the first-hand experience of working with the athletes and the athletic trainers. I have been able to interact with such high level athletes and be able to have an impact on their performance and if they are injured, their rehabilitation. It has been a very interesting and worthwhile experience so far.

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 Experience Growth in a Busy Division I Setting with the Billikens

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Saint Louis University Athletics
By: Dave O’Loughlin (MAT Class of 2016) with Danny Smith, Bailey Draheim and Collin Peterson (MAT Class of 2017)

My time has been extensive at SLU, and I am thankful for it. Sometimes it gets frustrating always being busy while some of my classmates are free, but I view this as added time to learn and get experience. Through several hours at SLU, I have learned a great amount of material, gained a lot of confidence in decision making and clinician-patient communication, and learned to think outside the box and approach problems from different angles.

Just recently, we added three students in their first professional year - Danny Smith, Bailey Draheim and Collin Peterson. This has been a very positive experience for all of us, being that I now have the opportunity to pass on what I have learned, and have the capacity to lead other students following in my direction. For the PY1’s, they were “thrown into the fire” right away and forced to adapt on the fly and learn and work in a fast-paced environment. I think this aspect has helped them a lot in their clinical growth, as it directly correlates to the quick decision making and thinking on your feet required to be a good athletic trainer.

For my own sake, I have been learning a good deal about the business side of athletic training, i.e. billing, doctor referrals, hospital visits, scheduling, administration, etc. The PY1’s are getting a crash course of techniques to implement into the musculoskeletal assessments and rehabilitation.

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.

Learning by Doing in the SLU ATEP

Classroom experiences are linked with experiential learning in many courses in the SLU ATEP.  In MAT 616 "Enhancing Athletic Performance", instructor Lori Khazen ATC, CSCS integrates her lectures with skill instruction.

The emphasis in MAT 616  this week for the students in lecture was to discuss the fitness component of power and its link to the sports of volleyball & basketball.  For both, they discussed the logistics/rules of the sports, technical skill and fitness necessities, and breakdowns of each position, including the special physical requirements and mechanics for each.  The students then went into the Chaifetz Arena Pavilion with SLU coaches to actually practice the skills they learned in the classroom.

 

SLU Men's Basketball Coach Alex Jensen and instructor Lori Khazen work with the class on their shooting technique.

 

Student Eric Sass takes a big swing at the volleyball net, from a feed by SLU Coach Andy Halaz.

Jonathan Burch, SLU Assistant Athletic Director/Athletic Trainer conducted demonstrations on the use of the Swim-Ex at Chaifetz Arena with students in MAT 550 "Rehabilitation in Athletic Training".  In these demonstrations, the students not only "got their feet wet"....they actually participated in aquatic exercise in the Swim-Ex.

Jonathan Burch explains the use of the Swim-Ex control to students Ann Schmerbauch and Emily Monahan.

SLU athletic training student Emily Monahan performs aquatic exercise guided by SLU athletic trainer Jonathan Burch.