To celebrate National Athletic Training Month, Shenandoah University’s Division of Athletic Training hosted an event that gave local high school students a glimpse of what it’s like to be an athletic trainer.
The “A Day in the Life” event drew 80 high school students to Shenandoah’s campus on March 7, and rotated them through various interactive sessions that were led by SU students and faculty in the university’s Master of Science in Athletic Training program. High school students in attendance came from James Wood, Millbrook, Sherando, John Handley, Clarke County, Warren County and Central (Woodstock) high schools.
The four-hour event began with introductory comments from Rose Schmieg, DHSc., program director for Shenandoah’s Division of Athletic Training, before participants broke off into groups to attend the different sessions.
High schoolers visited Shenandoah University’s cadaver lab and participated in sessions focusing on sudden cardiac arrest, fracture care, functional testing for return to sport/activity and kettlebell training in rehabilitation.
Athletic trainers are licensed health professionals who render service or treatment under the direction of, or in collaboration with, a physician to athletes and clients, Dr. Schmieg explained. As part of a health care team, athletic trainers provide injury and illness prevention, wellness promotion and education, emergent care, examination and clinical diagnosis, and therapeutic intervention including functional return to sport or physical activity.
Our visiting high school students had a chance to perform various roles of an athletic trainer today and they did a great job. My hope is that this creates an interest in pursuing future education to become an AT or, at a minimum, educates them on the value of having an AT at all sporting events to keep athletes safe and able to perform to their maximum ability.”
Rose Schmieg, DHSc., program director for Shenandoah’s Division of Athletic Training