AT Alumni Newsletter 2015– Director’s Column
Posted: June 9, 2015
On behalf of all of the AT faculty, I hope this annual newsletter finds you doing well. Although this past year was one where we celebrated the 20th anniversary of ASHS and the Sports Health Care/Athletic Training Program, this has also been a year of firsts. In January we welcomed our first students into the Doctor of Athletic Training Program and the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Decision-Making and this spring we will be releasing our first free continuing education programs, approved for evidence-based practice category CEUs. We look forward to welcoming 12 students to our master’s program this July, which will begin our 21st year as a program and we congratulate the 8 students graduating in the Class of 2015.
The launch of the Doctor of Athletic Training program has been successful with 21 students currently enrolled and another 14 set to join the program in July. In addition the faculty are focusing efforts on providing quality continuing education opportunities that have been approved for the Evidence-Based Practice Category I CEUs. These courses will be offered online FREE of charge and can be accessed through the Athletic Training Practice-Based Research Network website (www.atpbrn.org). We currently have approval for Practice-Based Partnerships (1 CEU), Evidence-Based Practice (3 CEUs), and Health Information Technology (2 CEUs) and are planning to have courses on Healthcare Outcomes, Quality Improvement, and Comparative Effectiveness online in the fall.
The AT Program will be well represented at the NATA meeting in St. Louis. The abstract submissions from students, alumni, faculty, and external collaborators exceeded our efforts last year, with 34 abstracts being submitted and 32 being accepted. We congratulate Lindsey Shepherd, MS, ATC (Class of 2013) and Lisa Stobierski, ATC (Class of 2015) who are finalists for the Master’s student oral presentation competition. Lisa will also be honored at the student leadership breakfast with the Lindsey McLean doctoral scholarship from the NATA Foundation, which she will use to support her studies in the DAT. Class of 2013 alumnus, Richelle Mayfield, MS, ATC will also be honored with the Norm Mackie Memorial Scholarship, supported by the Professional Ice Hockey Athletic Trainers’ Society for her doctoral work at the University of Michigan.
The AT faculty have also had an exceptional year. Dr. Alison Valier will be recognized as an NATA Fellow in St. Louis and was recently awarded the ASHS Service Award. Dr. Cailee Welch was honored as the ASHS Scholar of the Year and we will be recognizing Dr. Eric Sauers with the ASHS Alumni Chapter Living Tribute Award at our alumni reception.
Under the direction of Bart Anderson, the ATSA has had another busy year. Many of their efforts are highlighted in this newsletter. I would personally like to thank the ATSA executive board, Melissa Kay (class of 2015), Josie Harding (class of 2015), McCall Christopher (class of 2016), Kelly Boyce (class of 2016), and Amy Gibson (class of 2016), as well as all of the committee chairs, who have worked so hard to promote the organization and the profession. ATSA continued to be an integral part of the campus-wide sports medicine club and served the community in a number of ways.
We would like to thank Sarah Piebes, MS, ATC (class of 2008) and Thad Walker, MS, ATC (class of 2003) for their service to the ASHS Chapter of the ATSU Alumni Board. Serving on the ASHS alumni chapter is not the only way to support the program. First, we simply ask that if you’ve moved recently or have just fallen out of touch that you take the time to renew your relationship to the Program and to the University. Just visit the ATSU Alumni page at http://www.atsu.edu/alumni for more information on how to do that.
Second, please consider providing your financial support to the Dwight Patterson Youth Sports Scholarship. This scholarship is the primary fundraising target for the program. It is reserved for current athletic training students whose research or leadership activities involve youth sports safety. This year, we awarded our 5th annual scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to Josie Harding (Class of 2015).
If you are interested in making a donation to the scholarship, please visit:
Your gift should be directed to the Dwight Patterson Youth Sports scholarship fund. Additional information about the scholarship and opportunities to donate will be available at the alumni reception in Indianapolis. We appreciate your support!
Lastly, please join us at the alumni reception on Wednesday June 24 from 7-10pm at The Dubliner, Leinster Room – 1025 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63101. If you did not receive the RSVP, please contact our alumni office at alumniaz@atsu.edu.
Remember, the ATSU Athletic Training Program has a Facebook page. “Like” us at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ATSU-Athletic-Training-Program/49842899360
Looking forward to catching up with you in Indianapolis!
Tamara