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.
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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.
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January 2018
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