SLU AT Student Finds an Inspiring Mentor in Preceptor/Alum at Westminster Christian Academy

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Westminster Christian Academy
By: Sarah Menzuber (MAT Class of 2019)

Westminster Christian Academy has been an incredible clinical experience over the past 8 months. My preceptor, Mercy Sports Medicine Athletic Trainer and SLU alum, Katherine Love MAT, ATC, has been an inspiring mentor and athletic trainer to look up to. I cherish the relationships I have made with school coaches, administrators and many student athletes over the past months. As an athletic training student at Westminster Christian Academy, my clinical knowledge, assessment and management skills, and my problem-solving skills have flourished.

With Spring sports starting up, the athletic training room is very crowded once again. And as we transition from indoor sports to outdoor sports, we treat many athletes with lower extremity pathologies including, medial tibial stress syndrome, patellofemoral pain, quad or hamstring strains, and ankle sprains. The WCA teams are all off to a great start. Our girl’s and boy’s lacrosse teams each had their first game, and win, of the season. I am excited to watch them play this Spring and see the multitude of talent both teams have!

Working with high school athletes is such a blessing because of their love for the sports they play. I have worked with a variety of injuries this year and each athlete works hard to complete the rehab protocols Katherine and I make for them, so they can get back on the field or court as soon as possible.

I am fortunate to be a part of the WCA family. Go Wildcats!

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 Appreciates the Busy and Collaborative Environment at Westminster Christian Academy

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Westminster Christian Academy
By: Sarah Menzuber (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

This August I began a new clinical experience at Westminster Christian Academy.  I am an athletic training student in my second professional year in the Master of Athletic Training program at Saint Louis University.  At Westminster Christian Academy, I am gaining clinical experience with the supervision of Katherine Love.  A recent SLU grad, Katherine Love MAT, ATC, is the Athletic Trainer at Westminster through Mercy Sports Medicine and is my preceptor for the 2018-2019 school year.  Katherine and I oversee all high school sports and keep busy with our always crowded athletic training room after school.  At Westminster Christian Academy, there is outstanding communication between Katherine, the coaching staff of all teams, the athletic director, the nurse, and other school administrators to ensure the best care for all students’ health and well-being.

So far, we have been fortunate enough to not have had any life-threatening injuries or have had the need to call EMS.  However, a Varsity Football player suffered an ACL tear and just had surgery, so Katherine and I will be working with him on his rehab.  I have seen a variety of injuries this year, including many ankle sprains, muscle strains, shoulder impingement syndrome, and patellofemoral pain.  We work with each athlete individually and design a rehab protocol for them to do after school and at home.  I love the hands-on experience I am getting and working with Katherine and the Westminster athletes.  I am beyond grateful and excited to be here for the entire school year!

Go Wildcats!

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 Receive Degrees at 2017 Graduation Ceremonies

The Saint Louis University Master of Athletic Training Class of 2017 graduates were recognized on Friday, May 19, 2017 in the Doisy College of Health Sciences Pre-Commencement Ceremony at Chaifetz Arena.

Congratulations to the 2017 Master of Athletic Training degree recipients:

Maxwell W.H. Alander
Brandi Michele Burgett
Bailey L. Draheim
Ali Nicole Graham
Sarah Marie Haenchen
Madeleine Irene Hauck
Morgan Jay Jasperson 
Brianna Christine LaBarbera
Katherine Elizabeth Love
Amelia Rae Meigs
Collin Edward Peterson
Olivia Rose Robinson
Stephanie Amber Ross
Daniel Richard Smith
Stephanie Anne Uhrich

Students from the SLU MAT Class of 2018 in the 3+2 MAT program also received Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science degrees.

Degrees were officially conferred at the SLU University Commencement on Saturday, May 20 2017 at Chaifetz Arena.

SLU Pre-professional AT Student Appreciates Positive Culture at John Burroughs School

New AT Student Blog Post - Danielle Jabczynski (SLU MAT Class of 2019)

Being in the last semester of my pre-professional phase, I am very eager to be learning from each site that I have had the chance to observe at. I have been able to observe at a private and public high school, as well as a two division III universities. All four sites have different atmospheres, and getting to talk with the athletes, athletic trainers, and student athletic trainers have made me appreciate the profession that much more. I not only get to watch different ways of taping and rehabilitating injuries, I get to experience how the same injury is treated and evaluated with different modalities. 

Lately I have been observing at John Burroughs School and have had the chance to watch lacrosse, baseball and soccer. JBS is unique because most students are involved in athletics so the athletic training room is always busy. Dean Tiffany ATC, the preceptor. and Katie Love, the PY2 SLU AT student, at the site are great at not only making it a great environment to be in, but making connections with every student so that they are comfortable.

I am thankful that I have been able to observe at many great sites prior to starting my professional phase to understand what I get to do during my future clinical rotations. The students and preceptors that I have observed with have been great at reviewing topics with me and explaining their evaluations or rehabilitation plans as I observe.

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 Value Preceptor's Approach to Clinical Teaching at John Burroughs School

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - John Burroughs School
By: Katie Love (MAT Class of 2017) and Patrick O'Neill (MAT Class of 2018)

This semester we have had the pleasure to do our clinical rotation at John Burroughs School in Ladue, MO. John Burroughs School is a unique clinical site in that we work with athletes from 7th-12th grade. JBS requires students to participate in an after school sport every season, so we not only see a high volume of athletes every day, but also a large variety of athletes. We have had the opportunity to work with men’s and woman’s basketball, ice hockey, girls swimming and diving, wrestling, and dance. This spring, we will work with boy’s golf, boy’s tennis, baseball, water polo, girls’ soccer, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s track.

Working alongside Dean Tiffany, ATC has been a great experience. As a preceptor, Dean is extremely knowledgeable in all domains of athletic training. He values our opinions as athletic training students and makes feel like an essential part of the sports medicine team here. Dean allows us to have a lot of hands on experience by having us perform musculoskeletal assessments, therapeutic modalities, prevention taping, and design rehab protocols. This setting really helps us grow as athletic training students and we are glad to have such an amazing preceptor and 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 AT Student Focuses on Function at Mercy Sports Medicine

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - Mercy Sports Medicine, St. Louis, MO

By: Katie Love (MAT Class of 2017)

For my summer field experience, I had the opportunity to work at Mercy Sports Medicine Clinic.  I was very eager for my first day because I had experienced clinical work in the high school and college settings but never a clinic setting.  There are three athletic trainers that work in the clinic and one athletic trainer/physical therapist.

The clinic is fairly new and has a lot to offer.  They see a wide range of patients of different activity levels, ages, and experience with the rehabilitation. I have really been able to learn a lot about functional movement patterns and fascial lines.  They place a large focus on these two things.  If there is not a structural issue, its most likely caused by a functional deficiency and there are a lot of dysfunctions that can be observed in the clinic by FMS (functional movement screen), SFMA (selective functional movement assessment), range of motion, and other tests.  The SFMA allows the clinician to asses seven specific fundamental movement patterns that are common causes of musculoskeletal pain.  The FMA focuses on movement qualities, limitations or asymmetries in a functional movement pattern.  This helps identify where an individual’s mobility or motor control is not being used properly.  

I have been able to see tremendous progress in the patient’s abilities and attitudes in their rehabilitation while being at Mercy.  Everyone I have gotten to work with at Mercy has been very helpful and explains what they are doing and why.  They focus on manual therapy as well more than relying on modalities.  I think that it is a very important component to therapy and have learned a lot of techniques from them.  Another thing that I have not had the opportunity to work with before were kettlebells.  I have read a text book and watch videos provided by Mercy of Pavel Tsatsouline and his approach to kettlebell training.  

I look forward to the rest of my time at Mercy Sports Medicine Clinic and cant wait to learn new approaches to therapy and continuing my education as an athletic training student at Saint Louis University.

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

AT Students Get Unique Experiences from the Special Events on the SLU Campus this Summer

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - Nike Elite 100 Basketball Camp and USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials, St. Louis, MO

By: Danny Smith (MAT Class of 2017)

This summer, I have had the opportunity to work at a few athletic events outside of my summer field experience.  I have been fortunate enough to work alongside my classmates, professors, and other health professionals at the Nike Elite 100 basketball camp and the USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials. Both of these events were held on the campus of Saint Louis University and the SLU Athletic Training Program played an integral role in providing health care at these events.

At the Nike Elite 100 camp, I was fortunate to get to work with many of my fellow classmates. Through this experience, we were able to put many of the skills we have learned in the classroom into actual practice.  It’s amazing to see how far we all have come in the past year.  Just last year we were learning about the body’s structures in gross anatomy, and now we are able to use our knowledge to provide treatment and care to injured athletes.

At the camp, we took player measurements such as weight, height, wingspan, and reach.  We also were available to tape players before each playing session.  When the players were on the court, we stood courtside in case an injury occurred and when one did, we used our injury assessment skills while under the supervision of our professors.  Getting to work alongside all of our professors was one of the best aspects of this experience.  Over the past four years we have been able to learn from their expertise, but through this camp we were allowed to see them use their skills in real life situations.  

I was lucky enough to spend a few days at the USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials at Chaifetz Arena. At this event, our program played a supportive role to the USA Olympic Medical Staff.  It was a joy to get to see the techniques used by the medical staff to help the hopeful Olympians to compete at their best.  This experience also gave me the opportunity to network with athletic trainers and physicians from across the country.  I was able to ask about how they became involved with the USA Gymnastics Team Medical Staff and the journey it took to get to such a position. Additionally, this opportunity gave me experience with a sport that I do not get to cover in my typical clinical rotations.

Through both the Nike Elite 100 camp and the USA Gymnastic Olympic Trials I have been able to assist elite level athletes.  I have gotten a glimpse of the athletic training services these athletes need in order to achieve success.  

It is experiences like these that help the Saint Louis University Athletic Training Program stand out as one of the best in the country.       

SLU AT Faculty and Students Team Up to Provide Medical Care for Prominent Nike Basketball Camp

Since 2000, Saint Louis University's Simon Recreation Center has served as the home to one of Nike's most prestigious basketball camps.

The Nike Elite 100 Camp brings 100 of the top basketball players 15 years to participate in 4 days of competition and instruction along with leadership training. Many future NBA players have participated in this camp as a high school athlete.

The SLU AT Program faculty and students have also been providing AT services for this camp since the program admitted its first group of students in 2008.  It has provided a great opportunity for SLU AT students and faculty to work together at a fun event.

SLU AT Students Thrive in a Busy Clinical Site with a Team Atmosphere at Affton HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Affton High School
By: Katherine Love and Amelia Meigs (SLU MAT Class of 2017)

The Affton High School athletic training room may not be the most spacious of athletic training rooms, but it gets a lot of traffic. Each day after school, 10-30 athletes from various sports pile into the room to get treatment. This keeps us busy with taping, stretching, ultrasound, and therapeutic exercise. The past 11 weeks at Affton have been incredibly eventful—we have had a myriad of injuries from head to toe (literally). From the very first day, Becky Stigen ATC, our preceptor, has kept us busy putting our clinical skills to good use. Having someone put trust in our knowledge and skills is more than we ever could have asked for—Becky is an outstanding preceptor.

We attend home soccer, volleyball, and football games and travel with football each weekend. Through Becky’s guidance, the after-school athletic training room is an educational environment where we practice skills we learned in class on our athletes. Becky is dedicated to Affton and to ensuring that each athlete gets the care he or she deserves.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this semester has been the growing trust between the athletes and us (Katherine and Amelia). At the beginning of pre-season, the players did not know us, and would rush over calling, “Becky, Becky!” But now, we are “Becky 1” and “Becky 2” and respond to the name Becky as well. This level of trust has turned to athletes asking us for tape or rehabilitation assistance (and some even knowing our name isn’t really Becky!). Becky rules her athletic training room with a firm hand, but allows us to explore our knowledge and work together to come to solutions. The team atmosphere of the Affton athletic training room has allowed us to understand what it is like to work in athletic health care and how to effectively care for athletes as a team.

Go Cougars!

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.