This January, students from the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences Department of Kinesiology’s athletic training program attended the Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association’s (SWATA) 15th Annual Student Development Workshop in San Marcos, Texas, where athletic training students participated in various activities that helped them continue to prepare for their upcoming professional credentialing examinations in athletic training.
The Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association is a regional subdivision of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), the professional membership association for athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession. SWATA provides networking opportunities, tools and resources to athletic training students and professionals living and working in Texas and Arkansas.
“The SWATA Student Development Workshop gave us a great opportunity to meet and network with a variety of professionals who work in non-traditional settings and allowed us to learn more about the differences in those clinical athletic training experiences.” – Nina Wilson, first-year student
Students participated in mock examinations and skill development workshops. Mock examinations allow students to encounter practice questions covering athletic training domains to help them prepare for their upcoming Board of Certification examinations. To become a Certified Athletic Trainer, athletic training students must graduate from an athletic training education program that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education and pass the Board of Certification Exam.
“I enjoyed participating in this student development workshop because it helped me develop new skills that will benefit my future career as an athletic trainer.” – Madison Montgomery, first-year student
Students are also provided opportunities to brush up on previously learned hands-on clinical skills while learning new skills benefiting their ability to provide patient care. Some of these include patient transfers, concussion evaluation, blood flow restriction rehabilitation, spine boarding for cervical spine injuries and suturing. They also attended presentations by leaders in athletic training and sports medicine about how to provide inclusive care, concussion research, self-care for the athletic trainer and career paths in athletic training.
“The workshop was a great opportunity to learn from professors at other schools and see how they teach. It also introduced me to new therapeutic interventions, such as blood flow restriction rehabilitation, and shed light on how we should treat concussions based on the most recent guidelines.” – Dalin Hanning, first-year student
But it wasn’t all hard work and no fun. Several TCU students formed a team and competed in the District VI Quiz Bowl, where students faced off with other teams to answer questions. The winning team represents District VI at the NATA Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia. After a grueling battle of the minds, the “TCU Hypnotoads” claimed the second-place title.
“I really enjoyed my time at the SWATA Student Development Workshop. It was a great way to network and meet other athletic training students within our district and reconnect with others I met years prior. This workshop made me even more excited about entering the profession and going to more events like this in the future.” – Abby Schnettler, fourth-year student District VI Quiz Bowl 2nd place-winner
TCU, Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences and our Department of Kinesiology are very proud of our athletic training students and their commitment to advancing their skill sets and are grateful for the support of the Athletic Training Students’ Association (ATSA) at TCU. To learn more, please contact Stephanie Jevas, Ph.D., director TCU’s athletic training program at s.jevas@tcu.edu
Participation at the SWATA 15th Annual Student Development Workshop was made possible through fundraising efforts by ATSA at TCU and generous gifts to ATSA and the TCU athletic training program.