Kinesiology Students Volunteer at Junior Olympics

Monique Friloux, Contributor

The phrase "athletic trainer" usually conjures up an image of a medical professional taping up an athlete's ankle before a big game. The LSU Department of Kinesiology's degree program in athletic training is engaging students in different venues to broaden that reputation.

Two students recently took their knowledge of sports medicine to Knoxville, Tenn., this summer to assist the medical staff of the 2007 Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU, Junior Olympic Games.

Seniors Jason Girard of Deville, La., and Caitlin Redlich of Basille, La., were invited to work with the medical staff of the Junior Olympics, where they were given the opportunity to work during competition with all sports and athletes from across the country.

"We worked with students from other athletic training degree programs from Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Texas, all over," said Redlic. "We learned a lot from working closely with the certified athletic trainers there who coordinated medical coverage."

On a day-to-day basis, the students would be responsible for packing medical kits, providing acute medical care and physical rehabilitation, making sure the area was a safe environment for play, meeting with the athletic trainers and students and acting as first responders if an
injury arose.

Redlich was assigned to provide medical coverage by herself to a wrestling event with 200 wrestlers on the last day the students were in Knoxville.

"Sometimes, when I was thrown into the wrestling event, we would be the only medical staff there," said Redlic. "I was responsible for making the calls whether injured athletes could play or not. People were depending on my call and my decision."

Fortunately, the Concentration in Athletic Training within the Department of Kinesiology fully prepared the athletic training students to make those important decisions. This medical education program offers a variety of classes, hands-on clinical experiences and structured clinical rotations with the different sports teams on LSU'ˆs campus and other medical facilities in the Baton Rouge area.

"I've worked with every team on campus at least once," said Girard. "I worked with U-High under certified athletic trainers and was able to teach our younger athletic training students, which reinforces what I've learned."

Redlich believes that being part of patients' rehabilitation and observing other athletic trainers prepared her very well for the experience.

"The classes are very small," she said. "There are about seven people in each class, so it is very hands-on. It's all really good experience and gives me more confidence."

The experience Girard and Redlich have received sets them apart from other college students in other athletic training degree programs from across the country.

"We're prepared better than anyone else in the country," said Girard. "We can tell we're more prepared by the confidence and clinical skills we bring to these types of experiences."

"We are extremely fortunate that LSU and the Baton Rouge area provides our athletic training students with classroom and clinical experiences that extensively incorporate some of the best medical facilities and health-care personnel in the country," said Director of the Concentration in Athletic Training and Assistant Professor Ray Castle. "Our athletic training students are exposed to every component and resource needed to be highly competent and successful health-care providers upon graduation."

Because the program offers cutting-edge resources, students must apply to be enrolled in the concentration.

Students, like Girard and Redlich, who have been through the rigorous admission process, embark on a three-year program to become a Certified Athletic Trainer, or ATC. The degree program in athletic training at LSU is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education Programs, or CAATE.

First-year students complete courses on orthopedic assessment techniques and emergency medical procedures, while second-year students learn about internal medicine assessment and physical rehabilitation. The third year marks the decision-making phase of the program, in which students take courses with emphasis on psychosocial conditions, nutrition and administrative duties.

Athletic training students learn to be a competent health-care provider by the end of the degree program.

In the last semester of the degree program, students are eligible to sit for the national medical board credentialing examination to become certified. After successfully completing the national board examination, students can then apply for their license to practice medicine as a licensed athletic trainer, or LAT, through the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.

The successful completion of the program allows students to obtain employment in many different fields where athletic training is of the utmost importance, like high schools, colleges, professional sports teams, physicians' offices, clinics, hospitals, corporate wellness
programs, military organizations and performing arts.