For National Athletic Training Month, we as athletic training students and professionals are encouraged to promote our profession, whether if it is through social media or through events. I was very excited for this month because I find myself on social media almost every hour and I can use my time to promote Athletic Training. This would be a great opportunity to educate the communities around us what athletic trainers do through pictures of education, service, and appreciation. I was exhilarated about all the possibilities we could do this month!

So I decided that each day, I would post a picture that was meaningful. A picture that would depict one of the many altruistic deeds that athletic trainers do, whether it be taking the time to apply a tape application for support on an patient or teaching students on a certain intervention. A picture could may be an athletic trainer running to an acute injury, managing it and helping the patient off the field or court. A picture that would represent an action of National Athletic Training Month would mean more than a thousand words about athletic training.

My friend was demonstrating to my classmates a kinesiotape application on the ankle Students were asking him questions and intently watching how he applied kinesiotape to reduce swelling. I figured this was a perfect shot to start National Athletic Training Month. It entailed patient care and teaching and man, I was so proud of that picture. Seeing that my friend was also someone who recently graduated and working as an athletic trainer at a NCAA Division II college, I think there are days when I just want to say that I am proud of him being able to land this job right out of an professional Master’s Athletic Training Program. This picture, I believed would validate his willingness to let others observe, teach them, and provide his patient the best care available.

I took the picture, and I decided to upload it onto social media. Hours later, I receive notifications of people commenting on it. Unexpectedly, all of these comments were negative, pointing out on his attire, poking at how he provides patient care, describing how others around him do not look like they were paying attention. Reading those comments angered me because these comments were the opposite of what I was trying to convey in the picture. I wanted to do what many athletic trainers were doing this month, and that was to promote the profession, not to bash one person on how they looked in the picture. And as much as I would like to think that they were joking around, sarcasm is definitely hard to identify in monotone text. 

What bothered me even more was that my classmates even bought into it, agreeing with the posts and trying to poke more fun at the picture. At one point I felt humiliated. I was not trying to provide an arena of roasting, all I simply wanted to do was to promote the profession through a medium that I was comfortable using. Reading these comments on the picture, I felt unsettled. If promoting athletic training also involved how we treat our peers in public and calling out each other over the easily correctable details, then I am clearly confused on what we are promoting. Are we promoting, and putting down others in the process? Is that supposed to be appreciation in athletic training? In that case, am I supposed to be the guilty one for even posting the picture in the first place?

She came up to me and asked why I never write her love poems

And I told her it was because I am done

I am done chasing you from all corners of the world

in my mind, where you and I can be ushered

into something nice and slow

My poems were out of desperation

as the ink dries without hesitation

blatant words were forced together

hoping to catch the tantalizing eyes

of wandering women who are too picky to admit

that impatience is something they can't let go for love

If love poems are what you seek

then I can't imagine daily conversations

outside of cinemas and the internet media

wanting us to be something

when we just want to be ourselves

I don't mean to be rude, but love poems don't change the world for the better

but they inspire people to write, letters upon letters

There's always something to dance about after a long day of classes and clinical rotations. No matter the struggle, the reminders from the work and the peers I'm around always keep me afloat. My blog posts have cooked up the theme of optimism, but it is much needed for all of those who are reading this, no matter what career or lifelong goal one wishes to achieve. After buying into optimism and looking back at the changes I've made within myself and to those around me, built up my confidence and smile with pride. I always have something to dance about with positive moments during my time here at CBU.

Today, I took one of Charlie's patients to his doctor's appointment for a re-evaluation for his dislocated shoulder approximately five weeks. For some reason I was really nervous (good thing I didn't really show it), but I was not asked to do a lot; just remember what the doctor's plan was for the patient. On the drive, the patient told me that he was going to miss me once I leave to my next rotation. He told me that at first he didn't trust me, but I gained his trust through his rehab process as Charlie let me put in work. He even said that if I wanted to, he can try and introduce me to his brother and his physical therapy clinic for some more experience in the rehabilitation setting in the future. It was nice to be told from a patient that I am doing a great job as an athletic training student.

When we arrived to Riverside Medical Group and met with Dr. D'arc, he and the patient had a full on dialogue on the next plan. As they were discussing what the patient was allowed to do after checking his range of motion (which he had full of), I found myself surprised at how fast he recovering, only to remember that because the patient is an athlete and wants to play this season, we had to speed up his rehabilitation, whereas most doctors would have asked their patients of the general population who sustained shoulder dislocations to have their shoulders immobilized in sling for three weeks. We progressed the patient through a lot of range of motion exercises and PNF strengthening to get him up to speed by the third week. By the fourth week, we got him in the pool and graduated him into doing more sport specific exercises. Dr. D'arc gave the green light to him doing anything if there is no pain, due to the connective tissues of the shoulder not fully healed yet. He decided not to do any orthopedic tests as he was cautious of hindering the recovery process.

We got back to the athletic training room and reported back to Charlie the news. From his reaction, he seemed very relieved with what Dr. D'arc had to say about his progress. Although the return to play process is still gradual, I think everyone's excited for the patient to return to the pool.

For tonight's seminar, we had Kelly Hudson as our speaker, who opened up programs for many big-name dance companies around the country and is currently the certified athletic trainer for NBC's Biggest Loser TV show. Kelly was an inspiring speaker, reminding us that if we see an opportunity or a venue that needs athletic training, we need to pursue and express our value. She went from working for Disneyland, to working with the Radio City Rockettes, and ended up on a tour with the Lord of the Dance troupe. It was amazing to know what opportunities she has gone through and made a positive impact (and how it shows on stage) in the dancing community. She mentioned the four steps of being successful as an athletic trainer in the performing arts industry: Working the front line (taking care of the dancers), working the bottom line (cooperating with management), work the dress rehearsal (determining and fulfilling the dance company needs for success) and perform to receive an encore! 

She ended her presentation with a hilarious Irish blessing for an ATC:

May those who love us, love us; And those who don't, May God turn their hearts. But if he doesn't turn their hearts; May he turn their ankles, so at least we'll have a job.

In other news, I found out that I will be working at Santiago High for my next clinical rotation! It is funny because I was there a week ago working their football game for my host event requirement. But as I am more excited for my new rotation, I am definitely going to miss the water polo team and working their practices and games. The experience I have gained in the past eight weeks was marvelous, and after all the lessons learned, I am proud to say that I survived my first clinical rotation!

Today was definitely a long day. After my morning classes were over and after I finished my chick-fil-A meal (it was an improvised decision motivated by hunger), the long day was about to start. I did not expect how hectic it would be in the Athletic Training room after finding out that besides the men's water polo tournament happening at 3 pm, there is also a women's soccer game at 3 pm, women's volleyball practice and wrestling practice going on as well. There were other sports such as men's and women's basketball and men's volleyball starting to condition as well. We were all scrambling for coolers, trying to finish our logistical duties and treating our athletes at the same time. I felt so rushed and just trying to learn the water polo game set up on the fly made my head spin.

My head did not spin for long, instead it slumped in a lawn chair and waited for the day to be over. Riverside City College and Claremont McKenna College came to play without bringing visiting athletic trainers. Luckily, nothing terribly happened, just wrapped a few ice bags and refilled water bottles.

But today was a nice first run in my opinion. I had a few flubs such as forgetting to pack a few waterproof one-inch tapes in the kit that one of the visiting water polo players needed. At least, the refilling of water coolers and injury ice chests went smoothly. But sometimes, I just wished that I communicated more with Charlie on how these games were set up, and the more I wish, the more I regret not writing these down and taking full responsibility of it. All of the small things now have surmounted into some angst and frustration but I have one water polo tournament under my belt and I can fix my mistakes for the next water polo tournament next weekend. 

I told my friends the other day of something unique about myself

and I never expected them to snap their fingers and ask me for a piece

Certainly I was caught off guard

but damn, can they just realize

that they just won’t get far

shoving a nickel and two dimes

in the quarter slot

just to get some of that lemon lime?

The vending machine just doesn’t work like that

I don’t throw words on a George Foreman grill

I let them marinate first

let the meaning of the words soak in

the striations, that’s when you get the flavor of a knockout

I don’t like to rhyme on the spot

that’s for naysayers to live in doubt

and for desperate people looking for a way out

Because when we force phrases like that

we end up having an awkward conversations

where you listen and not have a clue about what I’m saying

and me spitting all over your presence

and to have my slobber will leave you sick and disgusted

and I’m better than that

it takes a few seconds to screw up the dialogue

but many days and nights to make spoken word the way it is

enlightenment at its finest hour

blended with the protest’s power

so fresh that it came out of my mind’s shower

that you’d call it beauty

with and without a light

Have you ever wanted to know what a painting on the wall sounds like?

It can be the most captivating thing you have ever experienced in your life

if you can just give it some time

What is really awesome however is that they do not completely fade away. I vow to write something because I need to write. It's not that I am away from literature, it's more of a hiatus to self reflect after tremendous milestones and pitfalls in life.

The third and last eventful part of the July 21st week was water rescue training. After the training, I must give my kudos to all the lifeguards out there that have to deal with this as their profession on a daily basis. Being able to assess the situation quickly and respecting what obstacles the surroundings bring are the challenges to face when it comes to rescuing victims in the water.

The hardest type of rescue for me personally was the cervical spine injury rescue in shallow water. Although being in the shallow water may be the least of worries, the teamwork and collaboration of trying to get the victim still onto a spine board is challenging. We struggled trying to dunk the whole spineboard underwater and aligning it with the victim's body. What was easier though was that there are many ways to stabilize the head and neck in the water as the water serves as a temporary spineboard for the victim. It took a lot of communication and trust to manage this injury in the water.

Getting the rescue tube between the victim and myself during the drowning rescues was challenging as well, especially trying to rescue those who were bigger than me. Initially, I tried to use as much strength and momentum as I can to fit the rescue tube between me and victim, but what made it so much easier was getting the victim laying horizontally at the water level. It took a lot of coordination as well and definitely a few failed attempts to nail this rescue skill down.

Siraaj, one of my classmates, took pictures of us while we were rescuing each other in the deep end as if we had cervical spine injuries. The primary responder would appropriately enter the pool with a rescue tube and perform a rear rescue on the victim. The secondary responder on deck yells to the primary responder and directs him or her towards the deck safely. Once the primary responder and the victim approach closesly to the deck, both responders communicate with each other on getting the victim in the right position. The secondary responder holds onto the victim by his or her crossed wrists as the primary responder exits the pool and retrieves the spineboard. The primary responder dunks the spineboard vertically into the water and brings it close to the wall as much as possible. With coordination, both responders roll the victim onto the spineboard so the victim is laying supine and aligned with the spineboard and the responders are both holding onto a wrist and a corner hand of the board. Then, in a synchronized manner, both responders pull out the victim and the board together and proper c-spine management would follow as if the injury happened on land.

Matt and Edgar rescuing Matt!

Lauren and Nikki rescuing me!

Now Nikki and I rescuing Lauren!

Norma and Siraaj rescuing me!

The Interprofessional Education (IPE) session was definitely an eye-opener for me. It made me wonder how our profession was represented and seen by other health care professions. Albeit, CBU’s School of Nursing was represented by nine people including the professors, compared to our 21 including Dr. MacDonald. Although we outnumbered them in the session, my views on nursing have definitely changed. I was aware of the different kinds of nurses there are, but I never knew what their main responsibilities were. I learned mainly about the nurse practitioner, nurse educator, and the certified nurse specialist.

It was great to have Dr. Bursch and Dr. Meyer give us athletic training students some insight on the nursing profession. One thing that I learned was that a nurse practitioner was also a primary care provider and that all nurses are patient advocates and more than just the eyes and ears of the physician. In that context, athletic trainers are the athletes’ advocates!

We were split up into four groups, diverse with athletic training and nursing students and played pictionary. The things we had to draw had to do with our perception of other health care professions and professions that work with health care such as physical therapists, personal trainers, coaches, etc. It was crazy how most of us would draw the stereotypical nurses’ hat and a patient’s table and the nurses drew body building motifs when it came to our profession.

It is obvious that these stereotypes are in the way of truly knowing each other’s professions and our scopes of practices. After our pictionary exercise, we worked on a case that involved an 10-year old male suffering from asthma attacks at a 3-week soccer camp. Discussing the proper management of this case, we were able to discern each other’s scope of practice. In our group, I was amazed with the medication knowledge that the nurse practitioner student had at her disposal while we laid down a flowchart that helps us properly assess, treat and prevent the asthma attacks. I hope she was amazed that we are not personal trainers, but we were recognized health care professionals that are aware of any sort of symptoms enough to send them to the clinic for further evaluation.

Out of all of the weeks so far, this week was probably the most hectic week I've ever been through yet, and it was hectic for a great reason. It was a good change from the routinely schedule of research, the usual functional anatomy, and emergencies class. On Wednesday morning, we attended a Sports Casting workshop hosted by Dr. Rod Walters from the 3M company. In the afternoon we had our first Interprofessional Education session with CBU's school of nursing. On Thursday, we had our water rescue class hosted by CBU's Aquatics department.

Good thing I have pictures to share since words will not suffice!

In the sports casting workshop we played with two splinting and casting products, the Scotchcast conformable splint, and the softcast casting tape. This was definitely an arts and crafts moment for me, being able to mold the casting product onto an extremity like clay and appreciate the simplicity and awesomeness of the products (I have no other synonyms for 'awesomeness' because it was just that awesome!).

The Scotchcast conformable splint is made of 7 layers of softened fiber glass and is prepackaged in rolls for custom cuts or precut in specific sizes. It creates a low profile splint that can creates less of a mess for both the patient and the clinician. All you need to do is measure a length a little longer than the extremity you are splinting, cut, fold and conform and wrap with cohesive tape such as Coban.

Here is a splint done typically for a boxer's fracture (aka 4th/5th metacarpal fracture).

This splint here is done on Alex is for the posterior short leg, typically for tibia or fibula fractures. Michelle approves!

Now the Softcast product, which was personally my favorite although messy, comes in packaged rolls that cost about 4 bucks each. Although it is messy to handle, the way it conforms to the structure you are casting and how versatile it is as a product (you can cut it right down the middle and reuse the cast with just some hole punches and laces). Plus, it really tests your taping skills! However, it is not a brilliant idea to put any tension on the softcast product or too many layers because it will become more hard and the cast will be painful to cut off (some of us learned it the hard way).

Edgar casting my hand

My finished product on Edgar's hand (Photo Cred to Dr. MacDonald)

The cast for a right hand

Thanks Dr. Rod Walters for coming and teaching how to cast for the better of sports!

If you are an athlete, a parent of a student athlete, a coach, a friend of athletic training, or a lovely individual who enjoys sports, wouldn't you want safety to be ensured in the state of California?

I have just received news that AB 1890, the California Athletic Trainer's Bill has been passed by both the Assembly and the Senate. It is now time for your support for Governor Brown to sign and protect Athletic Trainers in the State of California. If this bill is passed, everyone in the state of California can be assured that in an emergency, certified athletic trainers are there to respond and save the people in need. We as athletic trainers, are qualified health care professionals and work with others in the health care industries to make sports and daily activities enjoyable.

Here is the link to send your letter of support for AB 1890 to Governor Brown.