SLU AT Student Grows Clinical Skills Through Hands-on Experiences at Harris-Stowe State University

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Harris-Stowe State University
By: Carmen Roberson (MAT Class of 2020)

So far my clinical experience at Harris-Stowe State University has been great and has given me a new lens on the college setting of athletic training. I think one of the main differences between this semester and last is that I know so much more than I did starting out on clinical rotations in the fall. It’s been great to be able to apply my skillsets every day and learn from my preceptor. Since my preceptor, Tim Herlihy ATC, is the only athletic trainer at HSSU, I get a lot of hands-on action with the athletes. This has been extremely beneficial to my growth as a student and future athletic trainer.

I’ve been able to work new rehab protocols, learn new taping techniques, and see first-hand what chiropractors do. Harris-Stowe has three chiropractors that do rotations on different days each week so that has been fun getting to see their skillsets play out. I learn from them just as much as I learn from Tim.

My overall learning experience has been challenging, yet rewarding, especially because I am able to apply and see the difference it makes in the athletes I help.

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.

Athlone Student Gains Clinical Skills and New Friends in the USA at Saint Louis University and Webster Groves High School

International Clinical Exchange - Saint Louis University and Athlone Institute of Technology
By: Daire O'Regan (Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy Student, Athlone Institute of Technology)

I am a student in the Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy program at Athlone Institute of Technology in Athlone, Ireland and I spent Fall Term 2018 in the USA at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.

For my clinical placement I was at Webster Groves High School, with SLU 2nd Year student Erin Fabbri and 1st year student Carmen Roberson, along with Lindenwood University Student Kaylen Howard. Under my preceptor Sean Wright ATC we got plenty of field experience, covering a range of sports American Football, Soccer, Basketball and Volleyball. In these sports we got to see a wide range of injuries and got the opportunity to work with a lot of different athletes.

Coming into the clinical placement I was really looking to improve my Rehabilitation skills, and I think we were afforded enough time with athletes and a variety of injuries that I was able to improve these skills. I also learned new rehab skills in class at SLU with Mike Markee PT, ATC, which I think really benefited me. Also over the course of the 16 weeks I was in Webster I was shown different ways of doing certain things, for example in ankle taping I was shown a variation of the way were taught in class.

At Webster, I covered sports like American Football, and despite not winning a game, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of a sport that I hadn’t previously covered and the intensity at which it was played, meaning something was always going on to keep us busy. In the last few weeks I got to work with the basketball team, and got to see them play in the Webster Classic.

While we were here we got to tour around Busch Stadium and got to hear from the AT there and his experiences with professional sports. I also got to experience what college athletics when we got clinical Experience with SLU Women’s Basketball team, however, it would have been nice to have got more time to experience college sports and maybe even a few games.

I really enjoyed my time in St. Louis at Webster and would like to keep in touch with my preceptor and fellow students who were on placement there with me.

SLU AT Students Benefit from Diverse Experiences with Veteran Preceptor at Webster Groves HS

SLU AT Clinical Site Spotlight - Webster Groves High School
By: Erin Fabbri (SLU MAT Class of 2019), Daire O’Regan (ARTi Student, AIT) and Carmen Roberson (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

This fall semester our clinical site is at Webster Groves High school. We have a good variety of athletic training students with Erin Fabbri as the PY2, Carmen Roberson as the PY1, and Dàire O’Regan from Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland. We have had a busy fall semester thus far with a variety of 9 sports teams.

Our Preceptor, Sean Wright, ATC has been great, allowing each of us hands on experience and trusting our athletic training skills. He is a great teacher and we have learned a lot from him. We have had the ability to enhance our taping, evaluation, rehabilitation, treatment skills and assessments. We also have had lots of exposure to all different types of athletes this season, which allows us to manage many injuries.

We are looking forward to the rest of our semester at Webster Groves and continuing to improve our skills. We have made great relationships with the faculty, coaches, and athletes here and have truly enjoyed our clinical experience thus far at Webster Groves. We know that our experience here will push us forward and give us what we need to continue to learn more within our profession.

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 Finds Clarity Observing Current Students Learning at Clinical Site

New AT Student Blog Post - Carmen Roberson (SLU MAT Class of 2020)

This semester I spent most of my directed observation hours at John Burroughs High School. On my very first day I was a little skeptical because I simply didn’t know what to expect. All of my skepticism melted away by the time I entered the athletic training room. I was welcomed by Danielle Jabczynski and Caitlin Gibson and introduced to preceptor, Dean Tiffany ATC. I automatically felt a positive presence and that it would be a great learning atmosphere. John Burroughs has an awesome Athletic Training room too, so I was able to see new tools and equipment used that I had never seen before.

As the weeks went on at John Burroughs, I became more acclimated to the flow of what it means to be an athletic trainer and the many services and skillsets that one acquires. I saw all of the taping demonstrations, learned how an electrical stimulation machine works, and learned certain modalities used to help decrease pain. One of my favorite things to witness was how Dean, Caitlin, and Danielle analyzed injuries, tested range of motion, and created fitness tests. This was a really cool part of athletic training that I am excited to learn more about in the future. 

Overall, I am looking forward to becoming more acclimated within my profession, and I am very thankful for the time I was able to spend at John Burroughs. 

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.