In preparation for a hot start to the upcoming school year, Illinois State University's athletic training staff held an emergency training session with staff and students, inviting OSF HealthCare providers and trainers from local high schools for the first time.
Athletic trainers provide sports medicine care for athletes on and off the field. They are often the first responder when a medical emergency takes place during practice or game play.
A group of about 40 attendees met in the OSF HealthCare Athletic Training Center at ISU on Tuesday morning. They walked into the warm OSF "bubble" to find an assortment of equipment, including several practice dummies, on the turf.
During the session, they broke into small groups and rotated stations that addressed different medical scenarios such as musculoskeletal injuries, first aid, allergic reactions, choking, administering CPR, and illness caused by extreme temperatures. At each station, participants took turns playing different roles, serving as either the lead practitioner, a medical assistant or sometimes even the athlete. This allowed for all the participants to learn how to react in these events whether they have someone to assist them, or they're all alone.
ISU Athletics spokesperson Mike Williams said they simulated some of the most common conditions trainers see on the field.
“Our athletic trainers are some of the best professionals out there, and a lot of times on game days they're backed up by team physicians and doctors," he said. "But sometimes, especially the high school athletic trainers are out on their own ... so it’s just giving them the background of some typical things.”
ISU’s athletic training department has been running emergency training events for several years to make sure the staff is refreshed and ready to handle any issue that arises. This year, however, was the first time it was open to other community members.
“Any time you can have a mixture of expertise it’s beneficial to everyone involved,” Williams said. “We want to be good community partners. That’s something Illinois State Athletics always strives to be, and our relationship with OSF has only strengthened that. OSF takes care of a lot of the high school athletic training and makes sure they have the appropriate coverage they need. So, it was really bringing the OSF side and the high school side together with our side to make sure we’re all there to help and support each other.”
An ISU graduate student studying athletic training said this kind of event brings in a new dimension to his education because it allows students to practice what to do in real time, rather than recalling information from a lecture. Some students had previously taken classes that taught similar information. However, they said having them act out the scenarios added another dimension to their education because it allowed them to practice what to do in real time, rather than recalling information from a lecture.
“Nobody wants an emergency to happen, but I think all of us know at some point in time in any given season there’s going to be some injuries,” Williams said. “Hopefully it’s nothing too catastrophic, but they’re going to be injuries and there’s going to be stuff that those trainers are going to have to deal with. I think just knowing that they’ve got support throughout the community will help get them through some difficult situations.”
