The SWATA Blog is glad to
introduce this month's guest blogger, Katie Scott. Katie Scott serves as the
National Athletic Trainers' Association Athletic Trainer in Residence. She
has provided us with a look into her role at the NATA office. Thanks Katie!
I was honored to be asked to
write a blog post regarding my experience at the National Athletic Trainer’s
Association office as the Athletic Trainer in Residence. The past 11 months has
truly been a life-changing experience, professionally and personally. I wanted
to use this opportunity to share with you my experience as well as share a
little bit more about myself.
Prior to joining the NATA
staff, my career was entirely spent in the Division 1 collegiate setting,
mostly focused in the Midwest region. After graduating from Northern Illinois
University in DeKalb, Illinois and completion of an internship at ESPN in
Orlando, Florida, I attended Michigan State University and earn my master’s
degree from its CAATE accredited post-professional program. I chose to attend a
post-professional program because I wanted to expand my clinical skill set
beyond the basic training I received in my undergraduate education,
specifically with manual therapy and holistic medicine. Following graduate
school, I accepted a one-year post-graduate internship at Northwestern
University. Though I felt prepared to excel as a full-time staff member
following graduation, the opportunity to intern at Northwestern gave me an even
smoother transition to practice. I experienced firsthand the expectations of a
full-time staff member, including administrative skills, autonomous decision
making and professional socialization. From there, I went on to a
mid-major Division 1 university, and while I appreciated my time there, I did
not want to pass on the opportunity to come to NATA.
Two of the more frequent
questions I’m asked while networking with members are: why did I transition
from a traditional setting (collegiate/university) to the non-traditional
setting of association management and what are my day-to-day activities?
I saw coming to NATA as a
unique opportunity in twofold. First, it expanded my opportunity to network
with my peers on an international platform. This to me was priceless enough.
Second, I was already seeking opportunities to give back to the profession, and
saw coming to NATA as a way to be able to gain a high-level vision of all the
different initiatives and programs already happening of which I could be a
part. Little did I know I would find a niche between balancing my background as
an athletic trainer and applying that to association management; but it truly
has become a passion of mine and I enjoy exploring ways to combine the two worlds
to bring the membership opportunities for growth and professional development.
Being the sole athletic
trainer in the office, I provide a day-to-day understanding of what ATs do.
This includes viewpoints on current practices, medical terminology, value in
initiatives and assessing potential value for future projects and member
benefits. I also act as a liaison to other professional organizations through
collaborative efforts toward topics such as youth safety, emergency management,
mental health, medical coverage and safety in sport participation. This has
been accomplished through meeting planning/attendance, authoring various
articles and publications, guest lecturing, task force participation, website
development and other program brainstorming. I’ve also had opportunities to be
part of the legislative efforts advocating for the profession, and look forward
to a successful Capitol Hill Day, held this June in Washington, D.C., in
conjunction with NATA 2016– we have all 50 states represented this year and
District Six has registered in high numbers.
Looking to the future, my
goal is to continue to work on my current projects and ideas that will the
membership. I’m also looking for opportunities to continue to practice
traditionally as an athletic trainer. I think it is important to stay true to
who we are as people of clinical service, so with that, if there is ever an
opportunity for me to assist at your local event in the north Texas area,
please let me know.
If there is one thing I have
observed during my time in this new district, it a strong commitment to serve
at all levels, and the pride of being associated with District Six. I have
enjoyed getting to know you during various events, and look forward to getting
to meet even more of the membership.
As always, if there is ever
a question you may have about a specific topic, or would like to provide
feedback (positive or negative) about your membership, please know I’m
available. My email is katies@nata.org.
I look forward to, hopefully, seeing you in Baltimore and at the SWATA meeting
in July!
Sincerely,
Katie Scott, MS, ATC, LAT
Athletic Trainer in Residence - NATA
