SLU AT Student Appreciates Well-Rounded Experience in DC at Georgetown University

SLU AT Summer Field Experience Spotlight - Georgetown University
By: Donielle Francis (SLU MAT Class of 2018)

This summer, I had the opportunity to complete my summer field experience in Washington DC with Georgetown University. I was able to split my time working with both the football team and the women’s basketball team while they are in the middle of their summer conditioning and lifting programs. I also observed the interprofessional care and interaction between the athletic trainers, coaches, team physicians, and strength and conditioning staff as it pertains to the health and wellbeing of the athletes.

While working with football, I was under the direction of Associate Athletic Trainer Travis McCormack MA, ATC. I was able to assist and/or observe team physicals, rehab programs, inventory, insurance and purchasing of supplies. I was also able to participate in reviewing emergency care and spine boarding with the GU staff.

The second half of my summer was spent with women’s basketball, under the guidance of Associate Athletic Trainer Shannon O’Donnell MS, ATC. With Shannon, I have been able to gain more experience in different modes of therapy such as cupping, ultrasound, microcurrent and manual therapies. Getting time to just  sit down and chat with both Travis and Shannon during the summer about the life of an athletic trainer and all their different roles and responsibilities was all invaluable information to me. They both always made sure to talk me through their roles and tasks and the reasoning behind why and how they do the things that they do.

I truly had a very well rounded experience here at Georgetown. I appreciate the sports medicine staff and athletes at Georgetown for being welcoming and allowing me to ask questions, observe and improve my overall skills.

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 Faculty Participate in NATA ELA Event

Biannually, the NATA hosts an Educator's Conference in Washington, DC. This event coincides with the "Hit the Hill" legislative weekend. The event was held at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Washington, DC.
The 2011 Athletic Training Educators’ Conference focused on “Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice.”   SLU AT faculty members Tony Breitbach and Kitty Newsham participated in the event. Dr. Breitbach presented on Friday, February 25th at the CAATE-ECE Best Practices Seminar. His topic was: "Utilization of Technology and Social Media in the Development of a New Athletic Training Education Program".  He also served as a moderator for a Breakout session on Saturday, February 26th.

NATA Educator's Conference in DC

Tony Breitbach, ATEP Program Director, attended the NATA Educator's Conference in Washington DC at the National Harbor Conference Center.

In addition to learning principles and techniques to enhance the Athletic Training Education Program, he also had the opportunity to make a poster presentation on the Interprofessional Education program.