Category: Higher Education

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NAU Honored for Support of Athletic Trainer Reservist

The “work-life balance” for an Army reservist or national guard member working at Northern Arizona University can be anything but balanced without the support of university leaders and staff.

Scot Raab, an Army reservist and assistant professor of Athletic Training Education, knows this first-hand and is thankful for the support he’s received. Last October, Raab nominated NAU for several awards for exemplary support of its employees who serve in the Guard or Reserve.

Arizona’s Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve—a division of the Department of Defense—recently announced that NAU will be honored with the Above and Beyond Award.

“Over the past five years as a professor in the Athletic Training Department, I’ve received military orders that disrupt my schedule here at NAU, and my department and fellow colleagues have been nothing but understanding and supportive,” Raab said. “Even on a personal level, fellow staffers have gone out of their way to help my wife during times I’m called out of the state for Reserve duty. I’m very happy to learn that NAU will be receiving an award for its continued support of military employees like myself.”

oregon-national-guardThe award is given to companies and institutions that go above and beyond the legal requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act by providing their Guard and Reserve employees additional, non-mandated benefits such as differential or full pay to offset lost wages, extended health benefits and other similar benefits.

Raab said it is common for guard and reserve plans to change at the last minute, making it challenging for his direct supervisor. In addition to the 14 to 21 days of mandatory Reserve training each year, there also are online training hours, extended drill weekends and the required potential for prolonged active duty orders.

“It’s an honor to be able to support Scot in his service to our country,” said Debbie Craig, director of Athletic Training Education at NAU. “There are not a lot of citizens—including myself—that would give up our current jobs to serve, yet our freedom depends on people being willing to do this. I am fully supportive of Scot’s service in whatever way we can accommodate him and am so pleased that NAU, as an institution, is super supportive through policy for our military personnel.”

NAU will be awarded the Above and Beyond award during the Arizona Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Awards Banquet on April 15 in Tucson.

“Knowing my employer not only supports but values what I do as a member of the Army Reserve means a great deal to me,” Raab said. “I’m proud to serve my country and NAU, and grateful to be able to do both at the same time.”

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Gannon University Gains Accreditation

Students who came to Gannon University with hopes of becoming an athletic trainer can now rest easy knowing they will be able to graduate from an accredited program.
The department of sport and exercise science at Gannon was awarded accreditation for a master’s program in athletic training, following an unblemished site visit in January by the Commission on Accreditation for Athletic Training Education (CAATE).
The program received the maximum period of accreditation, which is five years.
Prior to receiving this accreditation, the department of sport and exercise science had been enrolling students into a non-accredited athletic training program since fall 2014.
Gannon assured students that the athletic training program would earn its accreditation after the necessary steps required by CAATE were met.
Gannon, in particular, was found to have no areas of non-compliance in any of the standards, which ranged from administrative processes, faculty resources, student resources, student learning outcomes and their assessments.
Initially, the university conducted a yearlong self-study that evaluated 109 standards encompassing faculty support, curriculum design and other areas.
Following that, two site visitors came to review policies and procedures.
Gannon is now one of only three schools in Pennsylvania to be recognized by CAATE for having a professional and accredited master’s program for Athletic Training and the only school in the western part of the state.
The department of sport and exercise science will now also offer an accelerated post-bachelor option.
This allows students in the department to graduate in five years, in addition to receiving their master’s in athletic training and becoming eligible for the Board of Certification Exam (BOC).
The BOC exam is required for anyone who wants to become an athletic trainer.
“Students now have assurance they will be eligible for their national BOC exam,” Rebecca Mokris, the assistant professor of sport and exercise science and director of the athletic training program said.
“[This] places Gannon University in a prime position to offer exceptional learning experiences at a level consistent with the strategic vision of the professional field,” Mokris said.
Mokris, who holds a doctorate degree in education, also said this is a big step for the athletic training program at Gannon and it sets up those involved in this field of study for a bright future.
Allison Nolan, a student in the master’s program, said she is relieved that the accreditation finally came through.
“Its very exciting that we got accredited but it was slightly stressful because it was down to the wire for us second years,” Nolan said.
Nolan also said if the program wasn’t accredited, she wouldn’t be able to get certified as an athletic trainer.
“I would just have had a very expensive piece of paper hanging on my wall and not be able to use my degree,” Nolan said.
“But we passed with flying colors so we didn’t really have any doubt that we weren’t going to get accredited.”

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Bridgewater College to offer master’s program in athletic training

Bridgewater College announced today that it will establish its first graduate degree program – a Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) – building off one of the college’s strongest and most in-demand undergraduate programs. The college anticipates welcoming its first group of graduate students in May of 2017.

Bridgewater has offered a highly successful and well-regarded bachelor’s degree in athletic training since 2001. After the 2016-17 academic year, the college will no longer admit undergraduate athletic training students and will instead admit undergraduate students to a 3+2 master’s program in addition to admitting graduates of other four-year institutions to its two-year post-baccalaureate master of science program.

The two-year, 63-credit post-baccalaureate program focuses on preparing the athletic trainer of the future. The program continues the college’s exceptional undergraduate tradition of successful credentialing by engaging students in enhanced areas of inter-professional education, deeper understanding of the science of human function and dysfunction, recognition of relevant research and ways to incorporate that information into clinical practice. The students will also benefit from the college’s strong liberal arts tradition, melding professionals who understand the skills required of healthcare providers with those who can navigate positive strategies for communications, civic responsibility, ethics and healthcare in a more global context.

“It’s an important step for the college to strategically add graduate programs to its offerings,” said Bridgewater College President David W. Bushman. “We want to meet the educational needs of our student body and the greater community. The past successes of our prestigious and prominent undergraduate-level athletic training program make it the logical place to take what will be just the first step on the journey into graduate education.”

“Bridgewater’s first graduate program is one that has demonstrated success and maintains alignment with the institution’s core ideals,” said Barbara H. Long, associate professor of health and human sciences and head of the Division of Professional Studies. “For more than 15 years, we have been educating athletic training students in a liberal arts context. That combination has made our graduates extremely successful throughout the region, demonstrating that liberal arts and professional programs are not exclusive of one another. The Division of Professional Studies faculty are very excited to start a new chapter in a storied Bridgewater College history.”

Long added that the MSAT program will delve deeply into the profession, allowing students to gain real-world experience on campus and at a variety of off-campus clinical sites. She noted that the final-year capstone course focuses on full-time engagement in the real-world healthcare of a variety of patient populations. This full-time engagement immerses students into healthcare settings yielding not only proficient professionals but ones that are more confident and mature practitioners upon graduation.

To learn more about the MSAT program at Bridgewater College, go to bridgewater.edu/MSAT.

Bridgewater College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in 1880, it was the state’s first private, coeducational college. Today, Bridgewater College is home to more than 1,800 undergraduate students.

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Moravian College Debuts Partnership

By sharing space in a new facility, St. Luke’s University Health Network and Moravian College are teaming up to boost educational and job opportunities in athletic training and rehabilitation.

The site, once the home of Bethlehem’s 24-7 Fitness Club at 1441 Schoenersville Road, is now the Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Center.

Officials celebrated with a grand opening and ribbon cutting Wednesday afternoon, complete with tours of the outfitted space. The college owns the building; St. Luke’s is leasing the space.

The $6 million project offers 33,000 square feet for Moravian College and more than 10,000 square feet on the first floor for the hospital network’s sports medicine and physical therapy services.

“We are confident that with our partner, St. Luke’s University Health Network, we will develop the pre-eminent athletic training program in the region,” said Byron L. Grigsby, president of Moravian College.

In June, the center will offer space for Moravian College’s Master of Science in athletic training program. The college plans to develop doctorate programs in occupational therapy, athletic training and physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences in conjunction with St. Luke’s that will be delivered at the site. The occupational therapy program is expected to begin in June 2017.

The St. Luke’s physical therapist providers are dual-credentialed, and sports medicine specialists are fellowship-trained.

Athletic training is expected to be a growing occupation, with 21 percent job growth projected through 2022, according to statistics from Moravian College.

Moravian College’s space on the first floor will include academic areas for the athletic training program, including classrooms and lab spaces. The second floor includes community space for students to collaborate between classes, conference areas and office spaces.

“One of the … things about this collaboration is we have shared space,” said James Scifers, program director of athletic training and interim program director for physical therapy for Moravian College. Scifers is leading the development of the college’s master’s degree program in athletic training, launching this summer.

“By implementing these new programs, we are providing students with the opportunity to pursue three of the fastest-growing occupations in health care,” Scifers said, referring to athletic training, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

The center offers care for all types of athletes, from weekend warriors to professionals and those requiring rehabilitation of any type, said William De Long, chief of orthopedics for St. Luke’s.

The center has two classrooms and six specialized labs, which include strength testing equipment, orthopedic assessment, functional rehabilitation and splinting and casting.

Students are able to record data and review it on their own outside class, he added.

Other highlights include a distance-learning classroom, which allows students to attend class with a faculty member who can be anywhere in the world and instruct via a Skype-like device, Scifers said.

Another highlight is the therapeutic modalities lab, which includes the same hardwood floor from the former racquetball club and an apartment for simulated home health activities for patients.

Other features include an anti-gravity treadmill, light-emitting diode fixtures throughout and 16 giant television screens so students can see materials from anywhere in the classroom.

St. Luke’s will have about 25 employees at the site, including physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons and radiologists.

The facility took seven months to build, with J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc. of Bethlehem and Asbury, N.J., as the design builder and contractor.

Cerminara Architect of Hillsborough, N.J., designed the building and the programming of interior spaces.

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Franklin College Transitioning to a Masters Degree in Athletic Training

For two decades, Franklin College has offered a nationally renowned undergraduate program for athletics training. But that’s about to change.

Franklin is launching a master’s program in athletics training this summer, the first masters program of any kind, in any discipline, at the college.

The move coincides with the gradual phasing out of the school’s undergraduate athletic training program, directed the past 17 years by Kathy Remsburg.

The undergraduate program will continue through the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.

“With the athletic training program that we’ve had, students would come in freshman year, go four years, graduate and then go on to take their national board of certification exam to become certified as an athletic trainer,” Remsburg said. “With the master’s program you’re not accepted into the program until after your junior year if you come through Franklin College.

“If you come through another school then you have already obtained a bachelor’s degree.”

In the spirit of the National Athletic Training Month, Franklin College is attempting to raise the profile a profession that is not well understood by the general public.

“A lot of people still don’t know 100 percent what an athletic trainer does. We are the ones who diagnose, evaluate, treat and rehabilitate injuries,” said Chris Shaff, head athletic trainer since 2002.

The master’s program is headed by Jen Austin, Director of Masters of Science in Athletic Training at Franklin College.

Remsburg said if a student comes up through Franklin College, he or she will be taking classes pertaining to their undergraduate major as well as some master’s programs.

“Athletic training has become much more science-based,” Remsburg said. “They don’t want us doing treatments just because.

“They want us to be able to apply the treatments that we’re doing on an athlete to have a specific outcome so it’s much more science-oriented and outcome-oriented.”

Building a reputation

Franklin exceptional reputation in athletics training is due largely to Remburg’s foresight and dedication, according to colleagues. She became the school’s first certified athletic trainer in 1990 and served that role through 1999.

She estimates the undergraduate athletics training program has produced 110 graduates.

“(Franklin’s reputation) is based on the strength of how the program is designed, and the top-quality students that have gone through the program,” Austin said. “Kathy has some high expectations that she demands from her students, and they deliver.”

Marcus Davis, a 2002 Franklin College graduate, agrees.

Davis has been the athletics trainer at Franklin Community High School for 14 years. He attributes his successful career to the quality of the Franklin College program.

“It starts at the top. It starts with Kathy,” Davis said. “It’s a little nerve-wracking the first time you sit down with her. Her name carries so much weight. She’s going to be the (resume) reference, and if she gets you in the door you don’t want to let her down.

“It’s the way she prepares us. Kathy’s going to teach you some things, but she’s going to let you go out there and experience real-life scenarios and learn from your mistakes.”

A hands-on approach

Once admitted into the undergraduate program, students average around 250 hours of clinical time working with athletes. Remsburg said there are certain competencies and tasks students must be proficient in or they will not be able to continue.

Those experiences, coupled with smaller class sizes (approximately eight students per graduating class), makes Franklin College unique in athletic training.

“What benefited me the most was class size and that we had the hands-on access to our athletes to be able to evaluate them,” said Whiteland Community High School athletic trainer Travis Smarelli, a 2010 Franklin College graduate. “It makes a difference.

“You can see the confidence in your skills because you’ve seen the injuries before.”

Remsburg said a high percentage of students pursuing athletics training as a career are former athletes.

Davis, for instance, played soccer, basketball and baseball at Madison Shawe High School in southern Indiana. Smarelli played football and ran track at Whiteland.

“What draws you to the profession is you see it,” Smarelli said. “A lot of athletic trainers are former athletes themselves who at one time were injured. I was told once to find a career that’s interesting and always in demand. People are always playing (sports) and people always get hurt.

“There have probably been 10 days in the last six years where I felt like I was working.”

Change of heart

A 1983 University of Indianapolis graduate, Remsburg initially thought a career in physical therapy sounded enticing.

But unenthusiastic nature of those around her while serving an internship caused her to rethink her career path. She went on to earn a master’s degree in athletic training from Illinois State University.

Remsburg has since gone on to be part of the sports medicine team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Among other honors, she was inducted into the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 2005.

But she regards establishing, and growing, the Franklin College program as her top achievement.

“It’s very rewarding. I’m proud of where we started and where the program has come,” Remsburg said. “It’s not uncommon for employers to call me directly, saying, ‘Hey, I have this job opening. I don’t want to post it, but I know I want one of your students.’

“The profession of athletic training continues to grow. There are more and more opportunities for athletic trainers to be employed. But probably the most exciting part for me is to be able to look back and see how many students I’ve had an opportunity to impact, and just seeing how much they enjoy their jobs.”

THE REMSBURG FILE

Name: Kathy Remsburg

Age: 54

Born: Bowling Green, Ohio

Family: Husband, Cole; sons, Nick, 27, Jayden, 22, Nolan, 17

High school: Naperville North (1979)

College: University of Indianapolis (1983)

Favorite food: Chocolate

Favorite movie: “Lost in Time”

Favorite athlete: Mark Spitz

Favorite team: Cleveland Browns

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Keene State Athletic Trainers Collaborate on Textbook

When you’ve created a class and you can’t find a textbook for your students, what can you do? Write your own, of course. Which is exactly what a couple of professors in Keene State’s Physical Education Department did.

About three years ago, doctorsWanda Swiger, associate professor of Physical Education, and Melanie Adams, assistant professor of PE, created an Epidemiology of Injury and Illness class, making the College’s Athletic Training Education (ATE) major the first in the nation to offer a stand-alone athletic injury epidemiology course. Not surprising, the pair soon found that there was no undergraduate textbook for their new class. After trying pull readings from different journals and other texts, they realized that they would have to write their own. And so they, (along with Keene State faculty members Jeffrey Timmer, associate professor of Physical Education, and Scot A. Ward, assistant clinical professor, and other athletic training professionals around the country) collaborated on the just-released Epidemiology for Athletic Trainers: Integrating Evidence-Based Practice.

Epidemiology for Athletic Trainers: Integrating Evidence-Based Practice

Basically, the book guides athletic training students to an understanding of how epidemiology (the study and analysis of the patterns, risk factors, causes, and outcomes of diseases in defined populations) shapes healthcare practices for physically active patients. Armed with that understanding, athletic trainers can make informed decisions about the effectiveness of different methods of training practices and therapy for injuries.

Doctors Adams and Swiger realized that the book needed to reach a much broader audience than just Keene State students. “I had to ensure that this text book would be used nationally for all ATEs across the country,” Dr. Swiger said. “Therefore, as we discussed the topics of the text, I ensured that the educational competencies for the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education were a prime focus of our content. Athletic trainers have been at the forefront for collecting data for athletic injury rates, and as the profession becomes even more recognized as a health care provider, the book hopes to ensure that young professionals have the skills they need to continue to be active participants in the process.”

Dr. Adams points out that many undergraduate students understand research as experiments. “When they want to find the best treatment for an injury, they want to do an experiment,” she explained. “They want to compare ice to heat, for example, or whether using a foam roller is better than stretching to relieve muscle soreness. They want to do side-by-side comparisons. This is a perfectly legitimate way to determine which of the two has an effect, but where are you going to get 20 people with the same injury at the same time for your study? It’s very difficult to do well-controlled experiments in our field.”

The Importance of Epidemiology

This is where the value of epidemiology comes in. Epidemiology studies are unique in that they’re not experiments—they’re correlational. They gather data on large groups of people—high school football players in the US, for example—and then they look for patterns and information that indicate practices that possibly lead to injury, or seem to prevent injury.

“While the text begins with the history of epidemiology in health and physical activity, the focus of the book is to move toward how athletic injury is similar to and different from the traditional study of illness,” Dr. Swiger said. “The book is therefore divided into sections that introduce students to basic epidemiology concepts and trends in athletic injury and illness and finishes with applying these concepts to recognizing and preventing possible risk factors.”

“Our book begins with physical activity guidelines, because that’s something that young athletic trainers can understand—they all know that physical activity is good for your health, and that you should do 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week,” Dr. Adams said. “But they didn’t know the depth of the epidemiological research that it took to reach that guideline. Dr. Timmer’s chapter on physical activity and epidemiology basically pulls all the important studies together to show how much physical activity Americans need to get in order to see health benefits. The chapter demonstrates how evidence-based practice happens—it’s how epidemiology works in medicine. You piece together the health benefits—or the risk factors for certain diseases—indicated from very long studies of lots of people. When you see a benefit or a risk factor popping up over and over again, then you know that you’ve found something you can deal with.”

Begin pull-quote…Athletic trainers have been at the forefront for collecting data for athletic injury rates, and as the profession becomes even more recognized as a health care provider, the book hopes to ensure that young professionals have the skills they need to continue to be active participants in the process.…end pull-quote

– Dr. Wanda Swiger

Epidemiological research shows that certain characteristics about an athlete can make them more susceptible to injuries. Position, age, body size, and prior history are considered risk factors for concussion. Football quarterbacks, for example, are more likely to suffer a concussion than wide-receivers, but the linebacker has the greatest risk. And in any sport, once you’ve had a concussion, you’re more susceptible to another one. So what’s the best way for an athletic trainer to deal these at-risk athletes? “I want my students to understand that risk factors are not causes,” Dr. Adams explained. “Risk factors are characteristics that put people at greater risks for injury or disease, and some are changeable and some are not. You need a holistic view of the person and those characteristics that may predispose them towards one thing or another, but just because someone has a risk factor doesn’t mean that they’re definitely going to get the attendant disease or injury.”

The idea is not to scare someone with a risk factor away from physical activity, because physical activity is so important to maintain good health. It’s important that the trainer provide correct information to help the athlete train and play safely, and to work around the risk factors. “We’ve got to balance the benefits of being active and maybe getting injured with the known problems of being sedentary,” Dr. Adams said. “For example, if we have a soccer goalie who’s had 3–4 concussions, we can try to move that player to a different position where concussion isn’t as likely.”

“Students often want clear answers: ‘If A happens, tell me what B is, and that’s what I’ll do,’” Dr. Adams concluded. “But that’s not how the medical professions operates. It requires a lot of clinical understanding and intuition, and knowing what’s in the literature that supports your decisions. Students need to know that there are multiple factors in any disease or injury, whether it’s developing cardiovascular disease or tearing your Achilles tendon.”

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AT and Teacher to Pursue Doctoral Degree

 

Never quit and never be satisfied. This is the motto of Mount Vernon High School teacher and athletic trainer Lucas Dargo, as he has been recently accepted into the Doctorate in Athletic Training program at Indiana State University.

In order to be accepted into this program, Dargo had to obtain an undergraduate degree in athletic training. The acceptance rate depends on the competitiveness among applicants and the location of the school you wish to attend. This program is designed for working athletic trainers who are treating patients while working a minimum of 20 hours per week.

Attending classes on campus is encouraged, but everything will be provided to the students online. However, there are weekends where being on campus is mandatory throughout the six semesters of the course. In preparation of this program, Dargo said that he has had to learn the art of time management. While in his master’s studies, Dargo was teaching undergraduate students, taking master level classes himself and working at a high school about 35 minutes away. Those time management skills continued to be useful as he is now a health teacher and the athletic trainer for Mount Vernon High School.

Although acceptance into this program is still shocking and exciting to Dargo, he will continue to teach and be the athletic trainer at the high school. He plans on using his down time as work time. “The athletes are my life, so I don’t have much work outside of school.”

There is a lot more that goes into the athletic training career that people do not know about. “We can’t just show up for events as they start. We get there a couple hours before to prepare for the event, stay for the entire event, and then stay a couple hours after to clean up and treat patients,” he explained.

Dargo’s main objective is to be able to perform manual therapy on his patients along with improving his formulation of rehab. He also wants to perform more physical therapy on his patients without being as dependent on equipment.

“At Ball State, we used modalities while learning, but at the high school level I usually use my hands, so that’s what I want to improve.”

Dargo is always looking for a way to help his patients get back into the action as quickly as possible. He wants his patients to come back from their injury faster, safer and better than what they were before.

“Just like a basketball player wants to get that rebound, the runners want to get that PR, and the football players want to get that touchdown, I want to be able to nail a diagnosis and nail the treatment. That could be the difference between you sitting out another game or you being back and winning the game for yourself, your team and your school,” said Dargo.

Being a part of this Doctoral program also means further advancement opportunities within the field. It opens new doors to help him treat his patients in ways he couldn’t before.

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A.T.Still Holds First Winter Institute

A.T. Still University’s (ATSU) Department of Athletic Training hosted its first Winter Institute providing students from the Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT) program an interactive educational experience focusing on innovations to advance athletic healthcare.

In total, 35 students attended the week-long institute facilitated by ATSU faculty and which featured presentations by some of the nation’s most respected leaders in athletic training. Students and faculty also served as consultants on innovation project proposals and participated in study section and reflection group activities.

2016-02-04_DAT-Winter-Institute_02.dng_-300x200

“The institute brought in some of the top thought leaders in our profession,” said guest speaker Scott Sailor, EdD, president, National Athletic Trainers’ Association. “The only place where I know that this level of conversation is taking place is within leaders of athletic training, so the opportunity that these students had to come together and hash out some of the same issues that we’re discussing, really sets them up as leaders of the future.”

Students of the online program traveled from around the country to attend the institute in Gilbert, Arizona.

“The institute’s agenda generated a comfortable environment to have discussions that challenged the status quo and caused students to reflect,” said Boston-based student Brian Vesci, DAT ‘17. “I found it personally and professionally rewarding.”

Students heard from other industry and healthcare leaders including ATSU President Craig Phelps, DO, ’84, and Dave Perrin, PhD, ATC, FNATA, Professor and Dean, University of Utah College of Health.

“Our goal was to create a transformational educational experience for students empowering them to lead innovations in athletic healthcare,” said Eric Sauers, PhD, ATC, ’97, FNATA, professor and chair, interdisciplinary health sciences, ATSU’s Arizona School of Health Sciences. “I think we achieved this goal and the feedback from all of the students and the faculty has been incredibly positive.”

About ATSU’s Doctor of Athletic Training program

ATSU’s DAT program provides post-professional education to students interested in pursuing high-level knowledge in evidence-based practice, clinical outcomes, quality improvement, and clinically focused areas like orthopedic rehabilitation. Additionally, the program offers a flexible model enabling students to pursue a degree based on their own schedule.

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Aurora University Students Pass the BOC on 92% of First Attempts

Athletic training is one of many fields that require a level of testing or certification before graduates can begin their careers. Graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training program are required to pass the Board of Certification (BOC) exam in order to practice in the athletic training field. And AU students have proven that they are ready to move into the professional world by ranking first in BOC pass rates in the Sate of Illinois for the most recent three-year aggregate 2013-2015.

“We’re not only preparing students for the BOC exam, but to be quality healthcare professionals as athletic trainers,” said program director and associate professor of athletic training Oscar Krieger. “Preparing them to be quality professionals is ultimately what is having an impact on their success with the exams.”

All Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education accredited institutions are measured in two categories: first-attempt pass rate and any-attempt pass rate. AU’s first-attempt BOC pass rate is 92% compared to the national mean of 78%, and AU’s any-attempt BOC pass rate is 100% compared to the national mean of 88%.

“Our pass rates say a lot about our professors. They go above and beyond, and they want us to be successful,” said senior athletic training major Gabrielle Martin. “They share with us the knowledge we need and go out of the way to teach us things like how to handle testing anxiety or other factors that may effect our results.”

“We get a wide variety of clinical settings which helps us know where we want to start in our career,” said senior athletic training major Skyla Strum. “We also get exposure to a lot of people who have different specialties and knowledge on a variety of subjects.”

Throughout the program, students receive more than 1,200 hours of clinical experience and 68 semester hours of professional and core courses in athletic training. The combination of classroom and field experience allows students to enhance their decision-making and critical thinking skills. By the time they are taking the exam, AU students are already thinking like athletic training professionals.

Graduates of the program go on to work in a variety of settings, including high schools, collegiate and professional sport athletic training facilities, corporations and physical therapy clinics. Many graduates also purse advanced degrees in kinesiology, exercise physiology, sport management, physical therapy and other healthcare fields.

For more information about the athletic training program, visitaurora.edu/athletictraining.

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Aurora University Hosts Sports Medicine Workshop

Dozens of licensed certified athletic trainers and students majoring in athletic training met at the University Banquet Hall on the Aurora University campus Saturday to participate in the 12th annual Current Trends in Sports Medicine Workshop.

Oscar Krieger, Aurora University Athletic Training Education director, said the program usually attracts professionals from around the Aurora area, but that some travel from as far away as Bloomington to attend the workshop.

“We also require that our athletic training majors be here and they basically run the whole thing from checking people in to introducing the speakers,” Krieger said. “As far as topics go – we ask people through a survey given after the workshop how they liked certain presenters and what things they’d like us to consider for next year.”

Krieger said this year’s workshop was the largest ever, having grown from modest numbers both in terms of attendance and the number of students interested in the field.

“The first year we tried to do this in 2002, we had to cancel it because even though there was email back then, we weren’t connected as well and enough people didn’t show up,” he said. “We also only had about 10 to 15 athletic training majors at the time, and now there are 40.”

One of the first presenters was Dr. Bob Paras from Aurora’s Castle Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. Paras spoke about medical cases in sports medicine as well as acute muscle injuries which included heat-related illnesses.

“With athletes such as football players, we’ve found cases of ‘sudden sickle cell trait’ which is a genetic disease where red blood cells are deformed and develop this ‘sickle’ shape to them which has sometimes led to death,” Paras said.

Paras also spoke about the growing concern about concussions and agreed there is a lot of ongoing research and that the public, in general, is talking about the dangers associated with them more.

“We need to establish more pre-injury baseline testing as well as have better rule enforcement in competition to reduce injuries,” Paras said. “It also falls on the athletes as well as the coaching staff to be more honest about reporting injuries.”

Those in attendance including Jill Ferree, an athletic trainer at Downers Grove North High School, said the workshop “was accessible and reasonably priced” and that for her, it has been an annual educational experience.

“I’ve come to all 12 of these, and I continue to participate because I get to learn about things that are sometimes out of my realm,” Ferree said. “I feel we get state-of-the-art information and that the people who present here are real professionals. Plus it’s a nice review of things …”

Students and graduates spoke about the program’s benefits, including Jordan Kinstner of Momence, who said she graduated two years from Aurora University and now works as an athletic trainer.

“I need to continue to earn continuing education units, and I feel they do a good job here with presenters,” Kinstner said. “I feel that I got an impeccable education here. A lot of these topics really hit home and for me – it’s a nice refresher.”

Drew Collom, who lives in Catlin and is currently a junior at Aurora University, said his ongoing studies in athletic training have given him a different perspective about himself, as well as others that continue to play sports.

“I played football here at the university my first two years, and this year I couldn’t, but I’ve had to take a look at things from a different perspective,” Collom said. “I realize by playing football, I put my body through a lot of stress, and I’m hoping to help other athletes in acknowledging the assumption of risk.”

David Sharos is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News

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