Registration and Housing Open!

SWATA Annual Symposium Registration and Housing is now open! This year’s symposium will be a great place to socialize, collaborate, and become more involved in our profession. You can register for both the symposium and housing on the SWATA website, www.swata.org.

The Young Professionals Committee has a full docket of events scheduled:
*a Young Professional social
*Mock interviews for YPs and students who would like help with resume and interviewing skills
*Student round-table discussions
*Speed networking

All of these events are an attempt to open lines of communication between all District 6 athletic trainers and to better prepare the next generation of YPs to become active members of this organization. It is definitely a great time to be a part of this great profession.

Conflict Resolution

There are several types of conflict...(wo)man vs. (wo)man, man vs. self, man vs. society, man vs. nature, or Man vs. Wild (great show).  Moral, ethical, personal, marital.

Over the course of one's life, chances are you will face all of these; and at the beginning of one's career it is likely that your resolve will be tested.  How you respond to conflict can and will have a far greater reach than you can imagine.

As athletic trainers, we are in a position that can lend itself to conflict.  Conflicts of interest between us and coaches, parents, administrators and even athletes.  Standing fast, and sticking to your guns can be challenging, and often uncomfortable.

Take, for example, a situation when a student-athlete is evaluated and treated by your fellow athletic trainer, but is not feeling any better after several days.  You evaluate and come to a different conclusion regarding the student-athlete's condition and change their course of treatment.  This could create a problem.  It often won't, though, because the interest of any athletic trainer isn't being right, it is doing the right thing by our patient.

Other examples:
Coaches wanting kids to play before they are cleared.
Athletic directors asking you to do things additional to your athletic training duties.
Teacher/Athletic Trainer. 'Nuff said.

I am a "do the right thing" person. I operate that way in my everyday life and specifically in my work setting. I know that we all strive to be that, and it can be difficult. Doing what is right is not always popular, and is often not easy.  Confronting your peers or supervisors is an uncomfortable situation, but it is sometimes necessary.

How do you deal with conflict resolution?

Chores

During NATM, we are going to use this blog to highlight some of the issues facing YPs, feel free to add your commentary and what's bugging you.

Right.

Chores are never-ending.  Even if you have done all the laundry and put it away (and that never happens) you still have the clothes you are wearing. Unless you do laundry naked.  The same can be said (minus the naked) for dishes and yard work and sweeping and vacuuming and....ugh.  never. ending.

They are a fundamental part of life.  From the moment you are capable, you have chores and at first there is a reward: stickers, privileges, allowance, etc.  The older you get the less the reward and the more an expectation, and then it is your responsibility.

Often we hear about life balance.  The delicate mix of work and personal life that is typically difficult for young professionals.  That discussion usually includes mention of family and friends, community and faith and priorities. 

Never any mention of chores.

However, I have found that the hardest part of "life balance" IS the chores.  I am great at time management.  I can juggle many things at once and keep my priorities straight, but I haven't yet mastered the art of getting chores done too.

When I get home at night, or finally have a free weekend the last thing I want to do is laundry.  So often times it will pile up until I have nothing to wear, or the dishes will sit in the sink for a day too long making them that much harder to get clean.

Ugh.

My husband is a HUGE help, don't get me wrong, but this chores thing is the bane of my life balance.  Maybe I need to get a housekeeper...or have kids who will one day work for free. 

Of course that throws the whole life balance scale out of whack again.

I.Can't.Win.

In all seriousness...laundry isn't more important than having dinner with the family, they make paper plates for a reason (even if it isn't "green"), and $20 to a neighbor's kid is money well spent if I can spend the afternoon with my husband and dog.

At the end of the day, or week, or month the chores are done somehow and my house may not be spotless, but I can live with that.

Our Specialty-Part 2

Kim Detwiler recently wrote on the NATA Blog...

***What are the traditional skills of the certified athletic trainer?
Thorough and systematic injury evaluation.
Accurate assessment and diagnosis.
Efficient, effective, and responsible rehabilitation.
Injury prevention and wellness education.
Providing quality care to athletes and active individuals.
Problem solving and critical thinking.
Helping people.***


Athletic trainers are many things to many people. Attempting to balance what is asked of us with what we are supposed to do is often a daily battle.  I, myself, am attempting to refocus my duties so that I can be the best athletic training practitioner and not the best athletic trainer/secretary/catering manager/everything else.


Few things can make you recognize your importance like a "routine injury" that turns out not to be so routine.  I recently had a situation like this...a JV girl's soccer player took a ball to the face.  A typical occurrence in soccer.  I trot out to the field thinking she was only going to be a little dazed.  She complains of a blind spot, and after further evaluation, and very little pupillary response, I determine she has a serious eye injury.
Would a lay person without our education and expertise come to that same conclusion, in that short, very crucial, period of time?


Or take for example what occurred on Wednesday at two Houston area high schools. A student athlete collapsed during a "routine" work-out.  In both situations the athletic trainers spring into action and stabilize the child for transport.  This article even mentions the athletic trainer. Good work, guys!  You did a great job.


Sports Safety IS a Team Effort.  Athletic trainers are the coach, quarterback, goalie and the anchor leg.  We respond first and determine the course of action.  THAT is our specialty.

March is National Athletic Training Month!

It's that time of year again!  National Athletic Training Month-time to for a grassroots effort to educate the media, employers, athletes and the general public about the importance and relevance of athletic trainers.  You may remember this post from last year, and I hope that it reminds you of the importance of diligently promoting athletic training now and throughout the year.

There are some great resources on the NATA website, as well as some additional information geared specifically for the target audience: consumers. 

Some simple things you can do:

Always refer to yourself and your peers as an athletic trainer.

Put the NATM logo and a definition of athletic trainers in your e-mail signature so that everyone you correspond with in the month of March will know.

Use your social media outlets, facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Buzz, etc to spread the word.

Little things throughout this month and throughout the year will add up to a big impact.

Last year, we did a commercial contest with great results.  We are repeating this contest again this year, so if you are interested e-mail us at ypc@swata.org for more information.

FINALLY...The SWATA election for Vice President is now open.  You should have received your ballot from Dan O'Connor earlier this week.  Please cast your vote, and keep an eye on the blog for a Q&A with the candidates in the coming weeks!

HAPPY NATIONAL ATHLETIC TRAINING MONTH!