Rotation II -

My second rotation was with a local hospital, and I also alternated days at Nacogdoches High School.  The schedule went Monday & Thursday at the Doctors' office and Tuesday & Friday at Nacogodoches High School.  This rotation seemed like it would be draining, but I do not know why I initially thought that way.  It turned out to be a very fascinating experience, especially at the Doctors' office, even though I mainly dealt with the older population; folks I will likely never interact with unless I am in a clinical setting.  The other site in my clinical experience, Nacogdoches High, was just that - Nacogdoches High, but it was fun to see more sports other than football.  Currently they have a pretty good boys and girls soccer team, baseball is getting started, and basketball is ending, although they made the playoffs with just three wins. Okay, maybe five wins.  The most exciting part about Nac High was watching Soccer, which is one of the few sports I do not understand.  I got the opportunity to learn more about the sport, and even helped with the rehab of one of the best overall players on the team.  Both soccer games I watched were shutouts.  Other than the boys basketball losing a heartbreaker by one point during my first week, I was good luck!

Meanwhile at the Doctors' office, I mainly followed around his Physician Assistant.  The environment here is good for the purpose of learning because you can observe real-life examinations with patients who have an array of medical conditions, as opposed to athletes who often only have one or two things going on.  The Physician Assistant, who is a graduate from the same program I am currently in, no longer practices Athletic Training, but had a lot of advice to offer.  We talked about the many environments that Athletic Trainers are employed, and the dis/advantages that come.  We talked about how is athletic background helped with certain patients and even figuring out certain conditions.  I got to see everything from amputated fingers, radial fractures in 5 yr olds riding horses, a cyst being aspirated, torn rotator cuff tendons from drunk women falling during a mardi gras party, and a rare case of ulnar neuritis, which I will most likely do my Upper Evaluation courses' case study on.  My favorite moment came when I was referred to as, a colored person by a 94 year-old woman with a case of gout, who asked the doctor why it was more prevalent in African Americans (wow)!  I was not offended, seeing the womans age and where she was most likely raised.  Live and learn, go figure.  Pretty much this was a productive rotation.  The time went by fairly quick, and I feel I got a lot out of it.