Cultural Competency: Why it is Important for ALL Athletic Trainers

My name is Natalie Trotter.  I am the Athletic Trainer for Women's Basketball and Golf at the University of Arkansas.  I am also District VI representative for the NATA Ethnic Diversity Advisory Council (SWATA Chairperson), as well as the chair of AATA's Diversity Committee.  I am blogging in hopes of defying myths on what the Ethnic Diversity Council is, who it benefits as well as defining what cultural competency is and why it is vital in any role in the healthcare professional.

The mission of the EDAC is to serve in an advisory capacity to the SWATA Executive Board. The Committee identifies and addresses issues relevant to ethnic minority members and health care concerns affecting physically active ethnic minority individuals. The committee advocates sensitivity towards cultural diversity throughout the profession and the association. Acknowledging the culturally diverse issues impacting our association, the objectives and strategies are presented to strengthen and unify the association.

EDAC is not just about us as athletic trainers, it is important to remember it is also about our patients.

Cultural competence is defined as the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.  In Sports Medicine it is a must resource in order to be a "sound" health care professional. As Athletic Trainers often we work with persons from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds, whether coworkers, superiors, patients and or athletes.  Cultural competence per definition comprises four components: (a) Awareness of one's own cultural worldview, (b) Attitude towards cultural differences, (c) Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and (d) Cross-cultural skills. As health care providers it is vital to develop cultural competency. Once cultural competency is attained, it results in an ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures.  No two injuries are the same, just as no two people are the same. To be successful as a health care professional it is important to have a sensitivity to patients/athlete's needs, which in turn provides a positive experience for both the provider and patient.

Being Thankful- District Director Kathy Dieringer

Being Thankful

As an Athletic Trainer, I have so much to be thankful for—having a job where every day we are able to help our patients return to the activity they love. Watching our patients improve from one day to the next, and knowing that we are an important cog in that process is priceless.

As your District Director, I am also very thankful, first and foremost for being chosen as your Director. I am also thankful that I serve a district of members whose passion and love for our profession is more than evident. We don’t always agree about what is the best course of action, but we do agree that we want our profession to progress, and that’s what really matters.

I am fortunate to serve with a number of outstanding leaders on our SWATA Board of Directors who are able to “check their egos” at the door, (as requested by President David Gish), and make decisions that are in the best interest of the organization and our members. By now, you’ve learned of the leadership plan for the SWATA Board: a plan that the Board carefully considered, thoroughly discussed, and unanimously approved. As you can imagine, this was not an easy decision, and was not done in haste. As requested by the SWATA Board, I am assuming leadership of the SWATA on a temporary basis. In losing President David Gish, we have faced the worst possible scenario as a District, but I am confident that the leaders in our District have, and will continue to rise to the occasion, putting our members first.

I have only two goals during these next months: to open the channels of communication within the SWATA, and to facilitate the transition of leadership to our next President, Josh Woodall. As we move forward, know that this Board’s priority is the members of the SWATA, and this priority drives every discussion and every decision.

My final thankful is that I was able to serve with President David Gish. Though his time as President was very short, his impact remains—a great leader with a passion for leaving this profession better than he found it, which he did.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Kathy I. Dieringer EdD, ATC, LAT

District Director

Developing a Student Aid program in the Secondary School Setting

Developing a Student Aid program in the Secondary School setting

I’ve had several friends and colleagues, even coaches at my school, ask me how I find and keep so many good student aids.  We treat our student aid program just like we would if we worked at the college level or if these students were employed through us.  We have high expectations of our students and hold them to a high standard.

I think there are several things that contribute to developing and sustaining an effective student aid program.  These are things we do at the high school where I work; there definitely is not a right or best way to do it… but this has been working for us over the past 5 years, and interest in our student aid program continues to grow. 

I think the first step is evaluating the needs of your athletic programs to determine how large, or small, you would like your staff.  We start the year with around 20 student aids, and typically have an additional 3 or 4 students in class that do not have obligations after school.  Inevitably, you will have student aids quit.  They either don’t know what they are truly getting in to, decide they want to spend their time doing other things, or move; but for whatever reason you will lose at least one student aid every year.  The extra students who start the year with no obligations can serve to fill those spaces, in the eventuality you have a student aid leave your staff.

Next, we have an application that all students interested in the student aid program complete.  The application includes a summation of duties and expectations, a brief questionnaire, and a grade report to be completed by the student’s current teachers.  We evaluate each application before contacting students for an interview.

During the interview, we go into more detail about what will be expected and required of the student aids in our program.  We stress the amount of time that is required to become a student aid, and try to reiterate that point several times during the interview.  We get to know each student to determine if they would be a good fit with our current staff.  Then, we answer questions the student may have for us.

Upon completion of the interviews, we send a letter to each student informing them whether we are offering them a position on our student aid staff, desiring them to take our class with no extracurricular obligations, or (in rare cases) saying “Thank you for your interest, but….”  I believe by treating the process of selecting our student aids as a professional application, we emphasize the importance we place on our program and give students selected a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Before the school year begins, we hold an in-service with our newly selected student aids to teach them basic skills we want them to know early on (e.g. CPR and First Aid, basic taping techniques, etc.), and then another with our entire staff to go over rules and procedures, brush up on basic skills, and prepare the athletic training room for the coming season.  Throughout the year, we hold monthly meetings to inform student aids on upcoming events and to discuss any issues that may have occurred.

We also try to have fun with our students. We carve pumpkins together at Halloween, have a Christmas party, and several other things throughout the year to show our student aids that we appreciate their hard work and dedication.   I know our students look forward to having homemade lasagna and Secret Santa at the Christmas party every year.

While this has worked for my school, you have to find something that works for you and your situation.  However, I encourage you to expect more from your student aids; if you hold them to a higher standard, they will begin to do the same for themselves and may surprise you with what they are capable of.

                                                                                    Written By: Kimber Rodgers

SWATA Young Professionals Committee: Annie's Advice

SWATA Young Professionals 

One group of young professionals that we like to give advice to are the recently graduated, and recently certified/licensed athletic trainers. We all remember our first year on the job, and the challenges we faced. I quickly learned that everything I learned in the classroom, was just a foundation for what was going to be thrown at me. Having a mentor with some tips to help along the way is a saving grace for many fresh athletic trainers. Below I have complied a list of “tips and tricks” to help the new athletic trainer get through the first few years in the profession.

-Get or Stay close to a mentor from the HS setting

-Know and learn your limitations

-Utilize fellow ATCs

-Be confident in your abilities

-Communicate with your team physician

-Evaluate the whole athlete, not just the suspected injury

-Don't be afraid to refer when necessary

-Work to educate your student athletes and others

-Be honest and straightforward with your athletes, parents, and coaches

-Don't be afraid to say NO

-Take time to have some fun

-Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. Take everything one-step at a time

-Listen to the Kids

-Get to know the janitors and secretaries

-Set up reasonable protocols

-Introduce yourself to the other team's ATC

-Don't be afraid to a risk

-Listen to those that have more experience than you, but also your students

-You're not going to get everything right 100% of the time. Failing is a part of it. 

-Try not to take work home with you

-Don't be afraid to ask for help

-Talk to the kids like they are adults

-Get to know your AD

http://www.nata.org/nata-news-blog/secondary-school-resources

Good luck on your career as an athletic trainer! Take it one day at a time, lean on others for advice and assistance, and most importantly, Have FUN! Welcome to the best profession out there. 

                                                                                  

                                                                                              Written By: Annie Nalepa

Preventing Sudden Death and Improving Sports Safety Nationwide with the Korey Stringer Institute

It is mid-September, the middle of fall sport seasons, the thick of the fall academic semester, and a reminder that athletic trainers need to be at the top of our game on a daily basis. We are the first and main line of defense for our patients. We are the medical leaders in preventing, recognizing and treating exertional heat stroke. Further, we are responsible for preventing, recognizing and treating every potential condition that can lead to sudden death in sport. It remains important that we stay up to date on the latest recommendations for the management of these conditions despite our limited time and grueling schedules. One of the best ways to keep up to date is to utilize resources available to you.

There are many organizations focused on sports safety from youth to the professional level. One of the leading, and most trustworthy, organizations for this movement is the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), based at the University of Connecticut and headed by an athletic trainer, Dr. Douglas Casa. The KSI partners with NATA, among others, to advocate for athletic training coverage for all organized sport. Beyond the staff working at their headquarters, KSI has a medical and science advisory board, composed of scientists and medical professionals who are experts in sudden death conditions. KSI is a valuable resource in education for athletic trainers, doctors, parents, coaches and athletes, emergency action plan review, among other things that can benefit every clinical athletic trainer.

Here is an example of a few recent projects that the KSI has been up to:

-TED-Ed 

TED-Ed animation on exertional heat stroke directed by Dr. Douglas Casa was released. (COOL FIRST, TRANSPORT SECOND!) http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-when-you-get-heat-stroke-douglas-j-casa

-National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research

A consortium was formed between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Korey Stringer Institute (University of Connecticut), and the University of Washington to investigate catastrophic injuries reported in organized sports of all levels (collegiate, high school, and youth). The goal is to create a national database on sports-related catastrophic injuries and to improve prevention and care for these injuries. 

http://nccsir.unc.edu

-CATCH-ON

Korey Stringer Institute called every public and private high school in the United States to investigate the availability of athletic trainers and the extent of service provided by them. The final data on public high school investigation will be published in the Journal of Athletic Training soon. 

A recent initiative KSI is promoting:

-Heat Safety Pledge: Mission Athletecare

Mission (a company that makes athletic gear) is investing 1 million dollars to promote exertional heat stroke prevention and a safer sport environment in youth sports. High schools that follow KSI's six pillars of heat safety (which can be found here: http://blogmac.missionathletecare.com/heatsafetypledge) will be outfitted with $1,000 in Mission cooling gear.

Upcoming presentations will be given by KSI staff and advisory board members in Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama to sports medicine advisory committees and State Athletic Trainers' Associations. We will have an exhibit at the Stamford Hospital Heath Wellness & Sports Expo (http://www.hws-expos.com/expo-home.php?expo=stamford-2014). Other scientific lectures will be provided to

Rocky Mountain University graduate students and at a medical meeting in conjunction with the Marine Corps Marathon.

KSI has an upcoming board meeting, where we will be expecting personnel from all of our corporate and education partners including the NFL, Gatorade, CamelBak, Kestrel, Mission, One Beat CPR, NATA, USA Football, Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Again, every athletic trainer needs to be practicing according to the latest evidence-based recommendations and doing the best we can in preventing sudden death. Not anyone has all of the answers, so don’t hesitate to utilize your resources that are meant to help you out!

Feel free to contact me at brendonm@uark.edu if you need anything, or head to http://www.ksi.uconn.edu for available resources and contact information for others within KSI.

Brendon McDermott, PhD, ATC

University of Arkansas