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Showing posts from May, 2022

Day Fourteen: Three Surgeries

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  5/24/22 Blog Written: 12:20pm Start: 6:50am End: 10:50pm Today’s Time: 4h00m Total Time: 79h15m Today was my last day of senior project and also my birthday. I got such a great birthday present from Chris, being able to watch three surgeries; he bought me some Dunkin's, too. I had to wake up at 5:30am in order to get ready for the surgery which started at 7am. Chris and I were shadowing Dr. Milano at Concord Orthopedic Surgical Center. The first surgery, my favorite surgery, that we went to was a surgery in the elbow to release some tension in the ulnar nerve(or the funny bone). The tension was released by moving the nerve from the Medial Epicondyle to the back inside. So it moved from inside the bump on your inside elbow to the side of the elbow. The surgeon first sutured up the fat and fascia, then the skin, then to fasten the skin together, he used a surgical stapler. After the surgery was done, the attending nurse gave me a clean staple to keep as a souvenir, which is pictu...

Day Thirteen: Packing and Inventory

  5/23/22 Blog Written: 7:30pm Start: 12:25pm End: 1:50pm Today’s Time: 1h25m Total Time: 75h15m I started my packing this morning because there was nothing really to do, and even in the afternoon, I didn’t do much either. This morning, I packed up my food, which took awhile, because I had to sort through it, and do some cleaning. Then I packed up my school things as well, which also took awhile because I kept on finding things then had to create new space for it as well. Then I did some dishes, and cleaned my boyfriend’s water bottle because he forgot it in my backpack yesterday. And I thought it would be a nice thing to do because he hasn’t had a chance to clean it for a little while, so to take one thing he had to do off his back. After that, I went to lunch then went to the AT room to help take inventory. I counted the cervical collars, bug spray, sunscreen, benadine, gauze, adhesives, Game Ready accessories, slings, compression sleeves, etc. Finally after that, I finished ...
  This week, I basically did the same as last week, but more in depth, and more hands-on. Like wrist taping, lightning protocols, orthopedic management, testing a knee, drills, orthopedics, splinting, and c-spine stabilization, watching surgery video, rehab, and taping/wrapping a knee.  For the taping section, on Monday, I practiced taping Chris’ ankle twice, then moved on to taping wrists. I practiced two types of tapes, one for supporting the actual wrist, and the other for supporting the thumb. When Chris had to go to a meeting, I practiced the taping on Bella, each wrist, each ankle. Later that week, on Thursday, then again on Friday, I was able to wrap two people’s knees. Along the lines of being able to do something on an actual patient, I was able to perform an Anterior Drawer test on someone who actually had a torn ACL.  For the lightning protocol, I learned that besides the numbers, it is pretty much common sense, if you see any lightning, it’s time to get ...

Day Twelve: Rehab and Taping

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  5/21/22 Blog Written: 3:50pm Start: 9:10am End: 2:35pm Today’s Time: 4h35m Total Time: 73h50m Today, I started out with talking about rehab, and the procedure behind it. We covered the basics, like first starting out with pain and swelling management, so using ice bags, Game Ready, compression sleeves, braces, and crutches; this would start in the first 72 hours of the injury and through day 5. Then comes range of motion, so drawing the alphabets with your foot, the slant board, etc.; this happens after the first 72 hours and through day 5. Then strengthening, which includes banded pumps in 4 directions, balancing on the pad, etc.; this happens in the second week after the injury. Finally return to sport functions, so giving them drills and exercises that correlate to their sport; this happens after the second week. After that, I helped Chris clean out the ice machine, which went by surprisingly fast. I got out all the ice by myself even though I had to almost get into the ma...

Day Eleven: Surgery and a Shot

5/20/22 Blog Written: 7:30pm Start: 9:00am End: 4:50pm Today’s Time: 6h20m Total Time: 69h15m Today, Chris had me watch a video of an ACL and meniscus tear repair surgery in the morning, then in the afternoon we went to get some testing done in order for us to be able to view a surgery hopefully on Tuesday. During the ACL and meniscus tear repair surgery, I noticed that the fascia almost looked furry, like white bunny fur. And the only part that bothered me wasn’t the muscle tissue or the tendons and bone getting cut, no, it was the skin getting stretched.  On the car ride over to the hospital to get our shot/test, we talked a little about the surgery that I had just watched, and also what type of surgery I might be able to observe, more than likely it will be a hand surgery. I am not very good with needles, and normally getting shots end with me in tears, squeezing the nurses hand until my knuckles go white. But this time, it went much better, no crying and no squeezing some poo...

Day Ten: Orthopedics, Splinting and C-Spine Stabilization

  5/19/22 Blog Written: 4:50pm Start: 8:50am End: 4:45pm Today’s Time: 6h25m Total Time: 62h55m Today was a pretty good day with just practicing. We first started in the dining hall, with me assessing Chris’ supposed injury. So apparently, Chris had a fall on the ski hill, after his knee gave out, and there was some twisting involved, too. So I did the assessment, and narrowed it down to either an ACL tear or a meniscus tear. Turns out that it was an ACL tear because the pain in his knee was deep. After that we went back to the Training Room and refreshed my memory on how to use a Scoop Backboard, and also a Traction Splint.  After lunch, we practiced stabilizing the c-spine; at first it was going great, when I was following Grace, a college AT student, and what she said, but when it came time for my turn, it was not so great. So, Chris was on the ground, in football gear, and I made the mistake of moving his shoulder a little bit, when there is a possibility for a c-spine...

Day Nine: Two Drills and a Game

  5/18/22 Blog Written: 8:30pm Start: 9:20am End: 4:00pm Today’s Time: 6h20m Total Time: 56h30m Today, we did a drill in the morning. Chris said that he fell in a game, and that his ankle was in excruciating pain. So since he was able to tell me what happened, and that we were inside, that ensured scene is safe and the ABCDEs. After that, I moved on to asking history questions, like what happened, did you hear or feel anything when you fell, and was your foot planted(emphasis on this one because he does have a history with injuries relating to having a planted foot). Then to observations, like swelling, discoloration, and deformity. Then we stopped at palpations, because I “felt” a spongy part on his fibula, also he yelped out in pain, which is also a pretty good indication that there is a very possible fracture. Then, a few minutes later, Chris collapsed, but he was still breathing and had a heart rate. But while I was doing a chunk test(poking around to feel for any deformities...

Day Eight: Orthopedic Management and Testing a Knee

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  5/17/22 Blog Written: 7:40pm Start: 8:30am End: 5:00pm Today’s Time: 4h30m Total Time: 50h10m I didn’t do much today, as you can see from my hours, but in the minimal hours I got in, they did have some heftiness to them. We covered many  different types of splinting from head to toe, with a few trick questions mixed in there. But before any splinting, we have to assess the patient. First, make sure the scene is safe for both you and the patient, then check the ABCD(Airway, Breathing, Circulation, and Deformity), you also have to ask if they are ok, if they respond to you, then they pass the ABC, if they don’t, you have another thing to worry about. Then you ask them history questions, then observations, then palpitations. For a broken toe, you can technically splint it with one of the shorter digit splints seen in the third photo and some tape to hold it on. For a broken foot, a Sam Splint and some tape would be used to stabilize the foot/ankle. Same goes with a lower tibia/...

Day Seven: Wrist Taping and Lightning Protocols

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  5/16/22 Blog Written: 7:40pm Start: 8:50am End: 4:00pm Today’s Time: 5h30m Total Time: 45h40m In the morning, I taped Chris’ ankle twice, then moved on to learning different types of wrist taping. I don’t know why, but it feels like my taping has gotten worse with practice compared to my first tape on Senior Project last week. I didn’t get a chance to practice wrist taping on Chris because he had a meeting that he had to go to. But I did practice on Bella Eaton, who is shadowing Kelly; I taped both of her ankles, and both of her wrists.  After that, I went to lunch and came back to talk about lightning and just a little more about heat stroke and hypothermia on the turf field. For lightning, besides the numbers, it is pretty much common sense, if you see any lightning, it is definitely time to get off of the field. The numbers for the protocol are 15 miles, 10 miles, and 5 miles. When the nearest lightning strike is 15 miles away, it is time to alert coaches and tell them ...

Week One Reflection

This week I learned about many things like taping an ankle, how to manage environmental situations, emergency situations, orthopedic management, CPR and airways, injury assessment, c-spine stabilization. Then on the last two days of the week, Chris was gone for a wedding, so I did some research on my own about the lack of ATs in high schools. I shadowed Austin, one of my committee members, on lacrosse games Friday and Saturday. For taping an ankle, I not only learned how, but also how each piece of tape placed down serves a purpose. For environmental situations, I learned more about how to prevent heat stroke/illness, the signs leading up to heat stroke, and how to manage a case of heat stroke and hypothermia. For emergency situations, I learned what my role is in case of an emergency, because I am not licensed or getting my license to become an AT, I would take a lesser role, like calling EMS, grabbing the AED, getting what the ATs need, and waving down EMS to show them where they nee...

Day Six: Trainers and a Lacrosse Game

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  5/14/22 Blog Written: 4:20pm Start: 12:00pm End: 4:00pm Today’s Time: 4h00m Total Time: 40h10m I didn’t do much today, since the minimum hours this week for full projects was only 35 hours. I came in later in the day, around 12, so I could help out with the rush of athletes, but there were barely any athletes to help. So I don’t have much to talk about today. I didn’t really do much in the training room either, I did learn from Kelly how to tape a bunion so that it holds the big toe in place to prevent further joint movement. Then I filled up the ice bag cooler, like I do everyday. After that, Chris Bartlett came in looking for a cooler and ice to put bottles of Gatorade for his lacrosse team’s game. At the lacrosse game, almost all of the ATs were there, except one. The lacrosse game was really good, and so was the weather, like seen above, and in the middle of the two buildings is Mount Kearsarge.

Day Five: Athletic Trainers Research and Game

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  5/13/22 Blog Written: 7:20pm Start: 8:35am End: 6:45pm Today’s Time: 6h25m Total Time: 36h35m I didn’t do much today besides a small research project based on how many ATs are in the US, what percent of high schools have full time and part time athletic trainers, and if that is enough. From what you can see above, there are not enough ATs, especially for high schools with hardcore sports with higher risk for major injuries.  But in the middle of the day, right after lunch, I caught up with Amie and had a nice talk with her for a little while. After that, I went to the pond to meet up with my friend, Em, where they were catching frogs. We saw about 5 frogs, all of which were very large; Em caught 2, which were also very large. I also saw many tadpoles, all were very cute. After the last class started, I decided to sunbathe a little and listen to some good, nostalgic songs.  After that little break that I had, I went to the trainers and worked there a little. Then bef...

Day Four: Injury Assessment and Stabilization of C-Spine

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  5/12/22 Blog Written: 3:50pm Start: 8:35am End: 5:15pm Today’s Time: 7h35m Total Time: 30h10m Today, we first covered a little bit more of CPR, then we moved on to injury assessment, then to C-Spine Stabilization, and finally concluded the day with working in the trainers. We didn’t do much with CPR, but we did cover what we talked about yesterday to make me feel more confident and comfortable in my ability to perform CPR in case of an emergency. For injury assessment, Chris first told me about the procedure behind injury assessment. First comes history questions, then observation, palpation, range of motion, and finally special tests. I was able to practice assessment with Chris coming up with an injury in his head, and answering my history questions that I came up with according to the injury that he came up with in his head. I was also able to perform both the range of motion and special tests. After we finished the injury assessment, we did practice with C-Spine, I was ...

Day Three: CPR and Airways

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5/11/22 Blog Written: 1:25pm Start: 9:00am End: 4:00pm Today’s Time: 6h15m Total Time: 22h35m Since today is Wednesday, it was a half day for other students, Chris and I only did one activity rather than two. We first talked about the steps to CPR, then we did CPR compression practice for about 30 minutes, and different ways to have/make an airway. For adult CPR, it is protocol to press 2” deep into the chest, I was struggling to press down all the way. I was told that it was ok to not be able to press the whole way, and that as long as I got at least 1.5” and kept with 120 beats per minute, that it would be ok.  After we were done with CPR compressions, he brought over NPA and OPA, which are ways to create an airway. Above is the NPA, Nasopharyngeal Airway. I learned that both NPAs and OPAs come in a wide variety of sizes to fit each patient. Also that NPAs are used for both conscious and unconscious patients, while the OPAs can only be used when the patient is unconscious so they...

Day Two: Emergency Situations and Orthopedic Management

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  5/10/22 Blog Written: 3:50pm Start: 8:30am End: 6:00pm Today’s Time: 8h30m Total Time: 16h20m TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of Cutting/Blood Today, my mentor and I covered Emergency Situations and Orthopedic Management; we talked about how we manage and assess each situation. At the end of the day, we went to the Girls JV Lacrosse game. We also went and had our lecture outside on the turf, which was nice to get outside. Chris covered the plan of what the athletic trainers and any first responders will do in case of an emergency that happens in each area of campus. For Farrell Turf Field, we instruct the ambulance to drive to 79 North Street(Farmhouse), and take that access road to the turf field. But because most EMS won’t know what access road to take, the AT will send someone to wait for the EMS and wave them to follow to the emergency site. We came up with an idea of how to manage an emergency if someone got hurt up in the woods. We thought we should come up with an Emergency ...

First Day: Taping Practice and Environmental Situations

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5/9/22 Blog Written: 7:50pm Start: 8:35am End: 5:30pm Today’s Time: 7h50m Total Time: 7h50m Today, my mentor, Chris Jones, and I first talked about the basics behind taping. Especially how each piece of tape that is laid down onto someone, has a purpose. Whether it be a the pre-wrap(to give a base for the tape to stick to if the athlete has unshaved body hair), an anchor(exactly what it sounds like, a place for the tape to anchor to), and/or the stirrups(used to pull the ankle laterally or outwards to prevent the most common type of ankle sprain). I practiced and learned about Louisiana Ankle Taping, also Open Basket Weave Ankle Taping. Louisiana Ankle Taping is where you do your classic ankle tape but when you get to the heel locks and figure eights, you don’t stop between them, also you intertwine the two. Open Basket Weave Ankle Taping is where you create horizontal stirrups all the way up the foot, past the ankle, stopping at about the mid calf.  We also talked about environmen...