By Guillermo Metz
Guillermo Metz is an Associate Editor at Training & Conditioning.
Training & Conditioning, 14.3, April 2004, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/tc/tc1403/extrahelp.htm
As an athletic training student, you have a lot on your plate. There are classes, clinic hours, coverage assignments, and possibly a part-time job on the side.
While student-athletes are often provided with resources to help them balance their academic and athletic lives—special computer labs, tutors, laptops to use on away games, seminars on time management—student athletic trainers rarely have such luxuries. However, some athletic training students are starting to ask for help with their busy workloads—and receive it.
The key to gaining access to resources is to join forces with your fellow classmates. "I suggest forming an athletic training club, so that you have a voice," says Leamor Kahanov, EdD, ATC, Director of Athletic Training Programs at San Jose State University. "That way, if you have an issue, such as gaining access to the athletes’ computer lab, you can bring it to your program director’s attention as a group. Because a collective voice is always stronger than a single voice.
"Sometimes there’s a separation between the educational side and the athletic side," she continues, "and the program director doesn’t have much pull, but the athletic director does. In that case, you could go as a group to your athletic director and say, ‘We work very hard and do this and that for your athletes, and you have this resource that we want. Please help us gain access to it.’"
"Start by communicating with your advisors, whether it be your head athletic trainer or academic faculty, about forming a club," agrees Scott Barker, ATC, Head Athletic Trainer at Cal State University Chico. A number of years ago, our students organized themselves as a student club," says Barker. "They went through the standard process, from a governance standpoint, for forming a club and that made them eligible to apply for student funding, which they received."
Students in the athletic training program at Fresno State University have also taken advantage of the club model to enhance their access to out-of-classroom resources. "They bring in speakers from the community and organize lectures," says Miguel Rueda, MA, ATC, Director of Sports Medicine. "They fund-raise every year to go to the national convention, too."
Beyond that, his students have gained many of the perks available to student-athletes. "Our student athletic trainers are treated very similarly to our athletes, so they have access to the same resources, the computer labs, study hall, and certain areas that are designated for student-athletes," says Rueda.
"In addition to that," he continues, "we have a couple of extra computers around that students can use. We always put medical information on there, but we also make sure they have word processing, spread sheet, and database capabilities, as well as access to a printer. We also stock a library for them. Some of this my predecessor put in place, and some of it the students lobbied for and got."
Athletic trainers also recommend drawing on the experiences of athletic training students at other colleges and universities. "One thing I impress on our student athletic trainers is to talk to other people in the field," says Rueda. "Meet other student athletic trainers at conventions. Talk with athletic trainers at other schools, or other program or sports medicine directors. See how they get things done. See what resources they have for their student athletic trainers."
There’s another resource that athletic training students can tap into: the advice of senior student athletic trainers. They’ve been through all this before and can provide the most sage advice on everything from memorizing the major nerve groups to working with a difficult coach. Many schools have caught onto this and have made it a formal part of their programs.
"We match up our first-semester students with our seniors," says Kahanov. "It’s important for the newer students to see how the older students manage their time, including their school work, hours in the training room, and their social life. The seniors also give advice on how to survive in this setting in order to attain their goals."