New Year’s Resolutions and Old Year’s Revelations

While working on some of my StarTRACKS assignments, I used one of my free CEU Bucks (those are actually pretty cool...use them!) from the NATA to watch “Communicating with Confidence." In this, an athletic trainer said something that completely resonated with me and is applicable for all YPs. He said that, as health professionals, communicating with confidence comes with knowing your profession and keeping current on methods and research in your field, and not falling back on “the way I learned it.” Hearing that took my breath away; I say that on a weekly basis!

Granted I have been out of school only six years, BUT in six years, I wonder what has changed? One athletic trainer in the segment presented this idea: at the end of the year, season, or month, ask yourself what you learned new. But most importantly, what did you fail not to learn when presented with something new. Was there an injury you had never dealt with or a surgery you had never rehabbed? Or did you see an injury trend that needs to be examined?

I took this advice to heart, and I am in turn asking you to do the same. I have seen four lumbar stress fractures so far this school year, so I surfed blogs and educational websites to find a good low back resource. I ordered a new book from Amazon and read a little here and there, re-learning that which I learned six long years ago and learning more that which is completely new.

There will come a point in our long careers where it will no longer be six years, but sixteen and twenty-six years, and “the way I learned it” will undoubtedly be changed. So to all of you contemplating a New Year’s Resolution (I promise to use my gym membership I haven’t touched since two-a-days!), reflect on what you did this past year and how you can become a better health care professional for your athletes. Merry Christmas and best wishes to you all for an awesome 2010.