I think I have definitely had a hard time staying on the same page as everyone else in the class. I came in with some but little knowledge of what to expect throughout the semester. My instructors warned me coming into it that I would have a tough time in the beginning but that I could potentially excel if I worked extremely hard for it. Needless to say, I knew I would have to break down and actually study but I didn’t think it was going to be as difficult as I initially anticipated. I felt as though I was just playing catch up from the beginning. Therefore I tried to take initiative myself and began reading my Emergency Care book on my own but I found little time, if any to do so. I also feel as though being an ATS and playing soccer was extremely challenging because I felt like I needed to be focusing on my studies considering my circumstances but my coach, the she never came out and said it, felt as though soccer should come first and I should have plenty of time to do my studies elsewhere. For example, on away trips we would begin to study on the bus and she would only let us for about an hour and then we had to stop. Then by the time we would get home from our away trips, I was extremely drained and there was no way I was going to be able to continue to stay up and study. So the only solution I could come up with was just when I was able to study was to make the most out of it and retain the material to the best of my ability I honestly think I improved over the semester and substantially obtained vital information throughout. My friends have been a big help along the way by pushing me to do my best. My instructors have also continued to remind us all in class to try to stay ahead of the game and to not study for our tests but to study to be good clinicians. That has definitely helped me a lot along the way and I know that as long as I consistently want to grow in my studies and pursue a career with Athletic Training, it will teach me how to prepare for class as I continue down my path to succeed in college.
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So far, my favorite part about my clinical experience is building relationships and trust with the patients. Especially coming in as a freshman, I had the opportunity to meet new people and create new friendships just through being in the clinic. I had the opportunity to get to know some of the athletes on and off the field and create friendships due to simply treating them and getting to know them when they came in the clinic. Even with some of my own teammates I feel like once I was on the women's soccer rotation with Chaypin, that it helped build on our friendship and bring us closer. Because even though you practice with the same people everyday the real coming together as a team comes off of the field when you can actually get to know a person and their personality. I really do think that by being there with some of my teammates for their rehab and treatments really and truly brought us closer. For instance, Lexi and I really didn't talk very much during practice or anything until she hurt her ankle during practice one day, which Chaypin said ended up being an ankle sprain and I helped her with her rehab over about a week and a half I think. Then I also helped with Ashley's treatments on some days as well and since then we've gotten much closer and we hangout like literally all the time. I honestly believe that if it hadn't have started in the clinic, then we probably wouldn't be as close as we are now. I also have made many new friends with people from other sports as well. It seemed that no matter what rotation I was on, I always seemed to make new friends and build trust with most of the patients I came in contact with. At the beginning of the semester, I guarantee that just about anyone you could talk to would say that I just dont talk very much but I think once I started getting comfortable around the people I met and the more I got to know people, the more I opened up. I think by being in the clinic so much and having that need to build trust with each patient definitely made myself feel the need to be more persistent and go out of my comfort zone a little bit. I'm definitely grateful that I was pushed to do so because it gave me the chance to create new friendships along the way
My rotation group consists of Cole and I. Hemza used to also be our group about a month ago but since he has quit the program it has been easier for me and Cole to get our hours without him flaking out on us or our preceptors and not showing up to clinically experience when he signs up. Although so far working with Cole hasn't been that bad. Most of the time we end up not even clinically experiencing at the same time anyway. We might work together one a day a week maybe, and that's pretty much it. I don't really mind staying with the same person all the time and I think that's literally only because we aren't in the clinic together that much but I do kinda wish that we switched it up a little bit instead of constantly being with the same person. I think it would be good to be able to work with one another just to learn how each of can handle each other or possibly get a break from the other person. I also think that it would give a chance to see how well each of us can work together. I think it could also possibly help us to grow as classmates and get to know one another better by working with each other more. Because even tho we do already have a small class, we don't really know each other that well unless we play a sport together like Catherine, Morgan, and I. For example, me and Lani sort of already knew each other before we even got into the program because we used to play soccer against each other in high school but other than during class, we really don't even talk to each other. I think it is pretty much like that with a couple of other people as well like Cameron and I don't really know each other and Lani and Cole don't really know each other but other than that I'm not sure about everybody else. But by changing up the rotations a little every once in a while I think it would definitely help us get to know each other a little better and learn each others habits and personality a little bit better. I think that could possibly even help our dynamics in the classroom as well because we would feel more comfortable with one another.
My most challenging class so far has definitely without a doubt been Lower Extremities with Brianne. It is just so much information and material to go over at once and I have found that my biggest problem isn't necessarily studying for the class but the way I study for her class because I have had a really difficult time so far trying to retain all the material. I have found that it is a whole lot easier for me to go through the book and highlight the important parts as I read through the chapter, then I go back and put sticky notes with my own words written over each of the paragraphs in the book so I can get through the chapter and analyze its contents more than once but a whole lot quicker. We have also just recently started going over the special tests of the hip, pelvis, lumbar, and thoracic spine and I am still trying to figure out how to truly learn them. Again with the special tests just like the other material in the book, I am just having a hard time remembering everything that goes along with each test. For example sometimes I can remember exactly how to perform the tests but I just cant seem to remember what they are testing for or what the positive sign is. So I have been trying to just read at least five tests a night and try to retain the material and memorize them to the best of my ability. So far this seems like it is beginning to help but I am still struggling a little bit. Hopefully the more I keep going over them and finding the time throughout the day to sit down and study them intently, that will help get me prepared for our practical coming up soon. I think also one of my biggest problems when I begin to sit down an study is that I just get bored or frustrated and then just give up and decide to take a nap or go to sleep depending on the time of day I actually get to sit down and try to study. However, I do think that I have already improved on my studying especially compared to the beginning of the semester when I literally had no idea how to truly study. I hope I can continue to grow in my study habits and get on the same page as the rest of my classmates with that aspect.
My group's clinical question was "In ACL tear post surgery patients, what is the effect of return to play with a brace compared to play without a brace as it pertains to range of motion, patient confidence, and also patient comfort?". Our group members consist of Catherine, Lani, and myself. Our committee members include Chaypin Buchanan and Lani's dad, Dr. Rhinehart. When we sat down to come up with a question, it was actually Catherine who came up with the idea to do our question pertaining to athletes having ACL tears and how wearing a brace after surgery can/will effect their ability to play. So the main reason we decided on choosing this topic was because Catherine and I both play with several people on the soccer team that have come back from ACL tears and one of them still wears their brace and the other two do not. So this really peaked our interest in the subject and Lani also went on to say that she had previously played soccer with an athlete dealing with the same circumstances. On our team, the first individual seems to rely heavily on the brace but I remember that there has been multiple times that she had been complaining at different periods throughout the season that it just kept hurting her and that it didn't fit correctly, therefore she decided that she try practicing without it a couple times but she put it back on soon after ( I think she may have tried it for one practice. I'm not even sure if it was for the full time). However, the second individual has been playing without her brace for about about two months or so and hasn't seen any problems without her brace really. She has also went on the make the comment that "My brace slows me down." so that has also peaked our interest as well to see if that has ever been proven true or not. While discussing our clinical question, one of the things that we are most interested in is if once a player returns and they begin to wear their brace for while if that after so long if it really doesn't support the knee as well as the player thinks it is. Yes, the brace more than likely helps in the beginning but after a certain period of time, we were wondering if the knee has healed enough that it can support itself but the player just relies on it too much at this point. So far we are excited to see where our question leads us and what information we will find pertaining to it.
My biggest fear about evaluating a patient would without a doubt be that I feel like I don't have enough knowledge to be able to properly and accurately be able to figure out the correct injury. I think that with time and lots of studying I will become more comfortable with it and can at least be able to narrow it down. To be able to become more confident in evaluating a patient, I plan to actually try to understand and retain my text/material and just study more in general. I also think that the more I look over and truly study my injury charts diligently, then that will also help me a lot. I have really kind of enjoyed reading about the different injuries in my book and putting them into my injury charts. I also like how each of the classes I am taking overlap each other so we are constantly hearing the some of the same material repetitively. Which I think will help a lot as well as I am trying to be more sure and confident of the injuries and all of the knowledge that comes with such injuries. In order to actually try to retain the material in my classes, I have started trying to put sticky notes over important passages that sum up the information and make it easier to understand when I come back to review. Along with that, I have also been making study guides on my laptop so I can take the material from the book and from my notes and put them together and go over it all at once. I have found that it seems to help so far but I haven't taken any tests with this studying procedure yet so hopefully this will be better than what I have previously been doing and will also help to get me to be more confident with evaluations. I honestly think that by improving my study habits and engaging myself into my studies more will definitely help me become more successful in my classes, grow in my knowledge, and help me become more comfortable with evaluations. Not to mention, also help me become a better athletic trainer and help me be more successful with my future en devours.
I have been asked multiple times what I like about Athletic Training or why I wanted to be in the Athletic Training Program. Each time I give the same answer. I started out choosing this major because I wanted a more hands-on experience but when I took the Intro to Athletic Training course which really peaked my interest. Then later on when I came to do my observation hours, I got to see first hand how much education and care everyone put into taking care of each person that walks into the clinic. That was when I realized that this is the major that I truly want to be a part of. Not many people realize how much effort that all the athletic trainers put into each day behind the scenes. Athletic Training has definitely become a big part of my life even in the just the short time I've been a part of it. I think that this is a fitting major for me because I have always wanted to do something in the medical field and I enjoy taking care of people. I am a hard worker and I like to succeed in everything I do which is why I think that I would be a good athletic trainer. We are already starting to learn more information to improve our skills and knowledge in becoming an athletic trainer and I am absolutely enjoying every second of it. I think that once I start learning better ways to study, I will definitely be able to comprehend the material and I'll be able to take it and run with it.
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January 2018
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