Journals
These journals reflect my weekly experiences as an athletic training student. Each journal reflects either an actual patient contact experience, or something I am working on in my athletic training courses.
This semester I have been doing a lot of my clinical experience during morning treatment. Most every Tuesday and Thursday, I go with a women soccer player into the pool and instruct her throughout her pool work out. She had surgery on her LCL and is building strength back to be released. I have enjoyed every moment with her. There are days she comes in and is very excited to work together and get stronger, while there are days she comes in and is dreading her work out. I have been able to personally work with her and build a relationship between us two. I have learned a lot working with her, and I believe I have influenced her a lot throughout her work outs. Working with her has influenced me to realize I have an impact on her, which means I could have an impact on multiple people to help them strive to become healthy. She has influenced my future clinical decision making in wanting to work with patients/athletes. She has helped me realize that I have an impact on her in just the two hours we spend together each week. I can only imagine the impact I could have on others on a daily basis. I am so thankful I have experienced this relationship with Morgan because now I know that if I can impact one person, I can impact others.
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A lot of things excite me about Athletic Training. First off, I love the classes. I love learning about the body in any kind of way. Even though therapeutic modalities isn't direct body parts, its way class that express a way to help heal the body and what happens throughout the body, like pain and how it is processed through the body. Although I am not sure I want to be an Athletic Trainer, I still enjoy everything we have done so far. I want to go to PA school once I graduate, and I feel like the Athletic Training program is the best way for me to excel in this path. This is excites me because I am constantly learning about the body, and I love it. I first came in wanting to be a biology major and quickly realized it wasn't for me. Athletic Training deals with patients/athletes, which is what I want to do. I am very excited to see what this major has in store for me. Even though I don't enjoy all the hours required because it is very difficult playing a sport and being an athletic trainer, once I am in the clinic I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It also excites me because the injuries we get to work with and the process the athletes have to go through, and I get to be apart of that experience. Another thing that excites me is the clinical observation that Athletic Trainers get to go to, like observing in the emergency room. I think I will be successful at athletic training because I love working with people and helping them get better physically. I have already worked with some athletes by mentally helping them, which I feel I am very successful at also. I enjoy watching a patient come out of surgery and begin a rebuilding and strengthening their body to go back to playing their sport. As I have went through this process, I now know what is like to be on one end and I believe I could be successful in helping other athletes due to already going through the process. Another thing I believe I would be successful at is helping an athlete go through rehab. Although I have not experienced this a lot, I have watched many athletes who have come into the clinic after surgery and completed rehab to now be back playing. I believe I have a lot of strengths with working with people in encouraging them to get stronger.. I am very helpful mentally and physically pushing one through their weaknesses. I am very hardworking, and I know I will be able to successfully help athletes in need.
Since I have been clinically experiencing, I have had a lot of trouble fitting time to make a practice with the teams I am scheduled with. For instance, I was with mens soccer this week and I was only able to make it for one practice, which I was late coming to due to volleyball practice and had to leave early due to a lyceum. One of my goals for this semester was to achieve 15 skills and master in 10 in a month. So far I have not been able to achieve this goal. Although I have achieved new skills, but I have only had one mastering this month. Another goal I have is to accomplish an evaluation once every two weeks, I have not yet been able to do an evaluation due to not being in the clinic as often. Since I have been having a hard time attending practices, I have been coming in for morning treatment and helping the athletes with rehab. I have been able to achieve one of my goals so far by improving my knowledge/skills by practicing in the athletic training room. I have practiced my tapping in the mornings to continue making sure I have the correct knowledge for the athletes when they come in before and after practice. Even though so far I have only met one of my goals, I am going to continue trying to achieve them each week. When volleyball season ends, I know I will be able to have more time in the clinic to achieve my goals.
Reflective Journal 2
For clinical experience this week I have been with men’s soccer team. Although I was only at one practice this week and a morning treatment, I was able to get the athletes prepared for practice. Before practice, I helped an athlete by taping his ankle and another athlete by wrapping up his blisters/wounds. In order for the athlete to practice safely I was able to help them by protecting their ankle by taping it. As for another player, who had blisters on his feet, I was put antibiotics on the area and wrapped his foot so he would be able to continue playing without hurting and to allow his injury to heal. Another experience I went through from the course objectives on the syllabus was experiencing empathy and compassion for an athlete. One soccer player is three months out of surgery form an ACL tear. I personally know what it is like to be on the sidelines watching your team practice and being able to participate due to this injury. Even though he still worked hard on the sidelines doing what he could to continue to get stronger, he gained a lot of sympathy from me. As I talked with him, while coming up with exercise that he could do, he expressed how much he wanted to be on the field. Throughout our conversation I had a lot of empathy for him because I knew how much he wanted to be out there helping his team. This experience has influence me to continue working with the soccer player who tore his ACL to not only get him stronger, but to help him gain encouragement that he can be apart of the team and help them without playing. Not only am I influenced to help this soccer player, but also the athlete’s ankle I taped to help the athlete get stronger in morning rehab to allow him to play without taping his ankle. For clinical experience this week I have been with men’s soccer team. Although I was only at one practice this week and a morning treatment, I was able to get the athletes prepared for practice. Before practice, I helped an athlete by taping his ankle and another athlete by wrapping up his blisters/wounds. In order for the athlete to practice safely I was able to help them by protecting their ankle by taping it. As for another player, who had blisters on his feet, I was put antibiotics on the area and wrapped his foot so he would be able to continue playing without hurting and to allow his injury to heal. Another experience I went through from the course objectives on the syllabus was experiencing empathy and compassion for an athlete. One soccer player is three months out of surgery form an ACL tear. I personally know what it is like to be on the sidelines watching your team practice and being able to participate due to this injury. Even though he still worked hard on the sidelines doing what he could to continue to get stronger, he gained a lot of sympathy from me. As I talked with him, while coming up with exercise that he could do, he expressed how much he wanted to be on the field. Throughout our conversation I had a lot of empathy for him because I knew how much he wanted to be out there helping his team. This experience has influence me to continue working with the soccer player who tore his ACL to not only get him stronger, but to help him gain encouragement that he can be apart of the team and help them without playing. Not only am I influenced to help this soccer player, but also the athlete’s ankle I taped to help the athlete get stronger in morning rehab to allow him to play without taping his ankle.
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Reflective JournalsThese journal entries express my experience as an athletic training student Archives
April 2019
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