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!

The Biggest Loser 5K

A few weeks ago, Mike Carroll asked me if I wanted to work an event at the Cotton Bowl on a Sunday morning. Because Sunday is usually the day off for a high school athletic trainer and the distance between Stephenville and Dallas, I had to first ask what event I would be covering. The event that myself, Yvette Carson of Coppell High School, and Lindsey Watson of Aledo High School would be covering was the Biggest Loser 5K Run at the Cotton Bowl.

Earlier in the week, Mike had received an email from Sandy Krum, athletic trainer and set medic for NBC's Biggest Loser television show. Sandy was looking for help with coverage for a 5K run that would take place around Fair Park grounds. After speaking with Sandy, I found out that we would be providing medical coverage for about 100 runners including current members of the BL cast. I was also told that the day wasn't just about the run, but also about filming an episode for the actual show. I have never seen a television show filmed so I was immediately interested.

When Yvette, Lindsey, and I arrived at the Cotton Bowl on that cold Sunday morning, the crew had already set up the "stage" and cameras that would be used for filming, and the participating runners had started to gather inside a near by building. We were told the runners won spots in the event by calling into local radio shows to answer health and fitness questions related to weight loss. There were men and women of all shapes and sizes and fitness levels excited to run just over 3 miles with the contestants of the show.

After a little while we met up with Sandy. Sandy is in his fourth season working with the BL contestants. Before moving to Hollywood, Sanday was an athletic trainer for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also covered men's tennis for the USTA Men's Tour and the U.S. Open. He told us that the BL show occasionally travels to different cities to host events in hopes of bringing attention to the growing problem of obesity and its effects.

Because none of us had ever worked in such an environment, we all had many questions as to what was going to happen during the day. First, we had to discuss why we were really there - to provide medical coverage for the participants. We discussed the course layout, water stops, and athlete trainer placement as well as where the paramedics and ambulances would be stationed. We were given radios that had communication for the entire operation. The production communications chatter over the radios was constant. There's a lot that goes into television production that the regular person would never imagine. Next, we got to tour the set and meet various producers, story editors, wardrobe staffers, and many other people involved in the operation and production of the show. The coolest meeting of the day was when Sandy took us to prepare his athletes - the contestants.

The show is approximately ten weeks behind on air, so we met only a few of the original contestants. These individuals were male and female, from all over the country, and had many reasons as to why they chose to participate in having their weight loss battle filmed for millions to see. Their stories of struggle and previous failure with their weight and other life issues are the sames ones you hear from your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. The injuries they told us about were the same ones see in any athletic training room. They asked to stretched, taped, and have wounds covered. These athletes were athletes; the only difference is their competition is themselves and their weight loss battle rather than the guy lining up acress the ball from them.

After meeting and speaking with the BL cast, we got to stand around and see the little things that make a big television show. Before the actual event, the participating runners were brought down to the playing surface inside the Cotton Bowl and pumped-up so that the excitement seen on TV would be real. The host of the BL, Alison Sweeny, came down and filming soon began. There were lots of starts and stops during filming. They even had to stop when airplanes flew overhead. After a while, the contestants entered the field and all of the runners got to meet with the contestants they would be running with or sharing the same color. On the BL, each contestant is represented by a color. All of the runners wore a color matching a contestant.

Luckily, we had no medical issues when the race was finally run. The day was more about the excitement that is created when a television show comes to town than a winner or loser. For me, it was neat to see a wide array of people spend a few hours of their time to promote health and fitness during this unique opportunity. An opportunity like this only comes about occasionally and being able to be a part happened because of professional connections.

Our Specialty-Part 1

I've been thinking a lot recently about what makes athletic trainers special.

And then, every now and again there comes a story about an athletic trainer that fills me with pride and acts as a reminder as to what makes athletic trainers...so amazing.

Check it out here

Loree McCary is one of my mentors. She helped shape me as the athletic trainer that I am today, and I couldn't be more proud. I wanted to highlight this story here, because 1)Loree deserves it, and 2)as the unsung heroes of athletics I think our profession deserves it.

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.

NATA Gatorade Service Award

NATA Secondary School Gatorade Service Award

This award was created to recognize the efforts of secondary school athletic trainers that are improving their school community as a whole as well as doing their job as an athletic trainer. Everyone knows of that high school or middle school athletic trainer that is always going above and beyond the call of duty for the betterment of their school. It may be covering classes in their department, driving a bus when route drivers are not able to drive, teaching AED/CPR to staff members of their school, organizing and implementing fitness testing, covering power puff games, FCA dodge ball and basketball event coverage, coordinating wellness programs, the list could go on and on...

The point is to recognize someone that you know in your district/area/region that is always going above and beyond expectations. We all have that person that we look at think...how in the world do they have the time to do all of that AND do their regular job as an athletic trainer.

Go to http://www.nata.org/ns/NATASSATCGatoradeServiceAward/index.htm to get more information on how to nominate that hard working athletic trainer that you know deserves some recognition for going above and beyond.

Crazy Time

I think that I have had these thoughts once or twice since the middle of October...

November is the start of "Crazy Time" in the world of high school athletic trainers (as well as other athletic trainers). There is so much going on and there is no way to keep up with all of it at the same time. Football, Volleyball, and Cross Country are at their peak of their seasons; Tennis is in full swing, Basketball is getting started and Wrestling, Swimming & Diving, & Gymnastics are getting ready to start their seasons! Most athletic trainers are just trying to survive from day to day at this point... I know that I am just keeping my head above water at times!

I always find that if I am drowning in my work, then I need to take a step back, prioritize what needs to be done, and knock them out one at a time. I will do this by making a list, ranking them in order of what needs to be finished first and then I cross them off when they are complete. It is a simplistic approach, but sometimes simple is all it takes.

Finding time to get away from everything is a good way to help you get things accomplished. Sometimes you just need to get a fresh perspective on a situation to know what to do and the only way to get that perspective is to leave it for a while and come back to it. We all have been there before...we have worked on something for so long that we cannot see the solution that is right in front of us. Leave it and come back to it later.

Do not allow your email and other electronic communications bog you down from accomplishing your work. Leave the emails until after you have accomplished the task in your training room or on your desk, the "problem" in your computer will still be there when you finish dealing with what is in the room with you.

Remember that we work in one of the greatest professions in the world. We are in the people business, so go talk with the people you work with. Get out of the training room... go to practices, games, travel with a team to an event and just relax. I did not become an athletic trainer to be inside at a desk all day! November is a great time of year to get outside and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air...even if it is watching football practice!

Take time out for yourself and for what is important to you. When you leave work, leave it at work. Be in the situation that you are in; don't be thinking of what you have to do tomorrow or dwelling on what happened earlier that day. Find your "Happy Place" and go there, even for just a little while.