3/18/2019 0 Comments Reflective Journal #9This month’s slogan honestly made me laugh when I first heard it. “ATs are Health Care” seemed like a dumb slogan because, to me, it was already known. I thought to myself, “Of course we are health care, why would you just state the obvious?”. Now, after talking a lot in class about how our profession is perceived and reflecting on some of my own experiences, I understand that this simple slogan has the potential to be very powerful. I began looking back on my experiences of times when someone has asked me what my major was and then after I responded, they mention how they are looking to get into shape to see if I could make them a program. I cannot count the amount of times that someone has mistaken me for a personal trainer, not an ATHLETIC TRAINER. I even got to the point that I wouldn’t even take the time to correct them on their misunderstanding, and now I realize how wrong I am to not do that. It is my responsibility to educate those that I come in contact with on what my profession is and what I actually do because otherwise, we will forever be mistaken as personal trainers and waterboys.
I try my best to embody this slogan by taking pride in what I do. I work hard in my classes to ensure that my knowledge is up to par (hopefully more than minimally competent). I do not mind admitting when I do not know something, but I work hard to ensure that I am knowledgeable in the areas I am responsible for, especially when I know that I will have to communicate that to the athletes. I find peace in knowing that my patients are confident in my ability to treat them and know what is wrong with them. Additionally, I try my best to not highlight the areas of the profession that athletic trainers are stereotypically known for, like getting the water together and taping. Those are as much a part of the job as any other area, but that is not what athletic trainers should be known for. I try to be intentional about talking up our ability to diagnosis injuries, create rehabs, and provide emergency care for athletes because most people I speak to are most surprised to hear that those areas are a huge part of the profession.
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April 2019
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