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AT in Colorado is growing, and you can get a little bit of everything there. The Olympic Training Center brings in top-caliber athletes. Jeb Davis shares what he loves about Colorado

What is your AT Story?

Often-injured high school athlete and went to the physician’s office for back pain where I worked one-on-one with an AT in a rehab setting

Nancy Condit in Missoula, Montana.

• We had a GA show up to help with high school basketball, and I learned more about the traditional role of the AT.

• Went to New Mexico State University  

• Worked in outpatient clinics in the southwest

• Went to grad school at the University of Pennsylvania

Worked with women’s and men’s basketball at the University of New Mexico

I then became the clinical coordinator at Fort Lewis College, where I worked as the clinical coordinator and program director, as well as outreach for the secondary school.

Durango is the best of both worlds: mountains and the desert

Outdoor paradise.

Jeb also worked as the Athletic Trainer for the Women’s Roller Derby team.

What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state?

Orthopedic Outreach and Residencies are shaping employment for Athletic Trainers in Colorado.

What is a big challenge for Athletic Trainers in Colorado?

CO is a great AT state

A long history of AT and a little bit of everything

Secondary

University

Professional sports

Olympic Center

We have a strong residency program

I feel like our ratio of ATs in ortho clinics is greater than most states

Colorado was only recently granted licensure for ATs

Maintaining and protecting the licensure is a big part of how we spend our resources.

If you had to pick another state to live and work in which one would it be and why?

Go back to Big Sky country, where I am from.

You're recruiting ATs to work in Colorado…what is your sales pitch?

Colorado is a destination state.  Great for the AT that loves the outdoors. 

We have a lot of opportunities to grow.

Contact Us:

Jeremy – SportsMedicineBroadcast.com

Jeb Davis- coatapresident@gmail.com

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

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What is your AT Story?

Lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico and was a high school student and was seen by the head AT throughout high school

George Westbrook became a mentor to me

I became a biology premed student and then hit a dead end.

Certified in 1980

Have had a great 45-year career

Worked at D1, D2 and D3 levels

Worked in high school and with the Dallas Cowboys

One of the unique things about California is the diversity. So many different settings

Started working in a faculty clinic at New Mexico State and finished at Cal State Fullerton

4500 AT in CA

I only represent 3000 of those because they are the certified ones

What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state?

We initiated our first licensure in 1986, but it got vetoed by the governor's office

That has happened about 5 times since then.

We have our first title protection regulation on the books right now.

“You can not say you are an ATC without actually being one.”

Our next step is to have all ATs registered and have licensure.  

We currently have almost no enforcement other than working with the leadership and showing them the law. 

But there is no penalty at this point.

We field 4-5 “poser” emails per month to weed out the uncertified ATs in the secondary setting.

At about 55% of ATs in secondary school.

Diversity – 

The state is huge

Ureka at the tip of Cali vs the AT in LA are very different.

We are committed to DEI efforts

Public school and private school

Some schools have 3-5 ATs on staff, but down the road the public school has 1 per campus.

Many of our ATs work in industrial (Amazon…) and outreach to the high school.

You're recruiting ATs to work in California…what is your sales pitch?

There are a lot of opportunities.  The jobs being created are properly vetted and often include overtime.  The community of ATs here is amazing.

The weather is second to none.

Contact Us

Jeremy Jackson

Ky Kugler –

California ATA – ca-at.org

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

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Keith Shireman leads the Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association and is working on retention

What is your AT Story?

I learned about AT from a colleague and started noticing motocross needed help.

Graduated in 1995 through the internship route

I became friends with Lorner Strong and she mentored me through the process

My work has all been in the secondary school setting except for the side hustle working with motocross

3rd year at Cabot

I was at Bentonville High School for 15 years

In Arkansas, your certification qualifies you for licensure.  There is a very small licensing fee.

You need a physician statement signing off that you have a license.

The AR practice act has not changed since its inception in 1995.  We have met resistance to change from other organizations on changing it.

The PT board helped and mentored until ATs got their board established.

This created a difficult situation with somewhat a conflict of interest where the PT board was preventing the AT board from advancing the practice of ATs.

We had an officer pass away from heat exhaustion at the fire academy and they did not have anyone helping regulate their heat illness  

Border states can be a bargaining chip for getting legislature passed.

Last year we had 14 MAT students graduate and leave AR and one stay.

The population of ATs – 300+

Lots of places to go hiking, mountains, trails outdoors, beautiful seasons, mountain bike trails.

What is a big challenge for Athletic Trainers in Arkansas?

Practice act is one.

Teacher pay was changed to the learns act

So everyone was put on the same pay scale.

We are meeting with the AT students to encourage them to stay in Arkansas and what are their sticking points.

You're recruiting ATs to work in your state…what is your sales pitch?

Lots of places to go hiking, mountains, trails outdoors, beautiful seasons, and mountain bike trails.

Contact Us:

Keith Shireman

Jeremy Jackson

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

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What is your AT Story?

When did you get introduced to Athletic Training?

Where did you go to college?

Where was your first job?

How long have you been practicing?

Typical high school athlete story”

Kyle had an ankle injury that was pretty significant, but ended up just walking it off.

He later sustained a concussion but kept playing because we didn't have the tools to identify a concussion back then.

Kyle talked with a friend who was a football player and one of his friends was an AT student.  That sparked an interest and he began working with Chad Starkey in Ohio

He went to WVU for a master's degree.  Part-time he worked with a D3 school and loved getting to work all of the sports.

Kyle finally decided he needed to get out of the 3-hour radius he had always lived in.

Alabama was the furthest job offer he received from home, so he took that one.

What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state?

Everything is 3-5 hours away, mountains, beaches, big cities…

Spiritually I am free to love others.

The people are great.

Nobody has a personal agenda, just people looking to do the work.

I live by work-life integration so that everything benefits.

What is a big challenge for Athletic Trainers in Alabama?

Involvement.  They need people to get involved.

Alabama had a council of 7 members when Kyle started and now has 17 and most of the positions are full.

In 2020 we updated our state practice act and had to redo it in 2021 after COVID

We created the advisory council which allows us to have 3 doctors and 3 ATs as the decision-makers.

Retention is a big challenge.

We have focused our effort on the rural incentive grant to help the 1-3A schools' Athletic Trainers to get up to $7500 working at those smaller schools

Alabama is starting a loan reimbursement program for people graduating with an MAT degree who can get $7500 for 5 years.

Contact Us

Jeremy Jackson

Dr. Kyle Southall

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

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Arizona has spring training…if you love the MLB, you should consider working with Lindsey Loughran in Arizona.

What is your AT Story?

Lindsey Loughrin got injured in high school and had ACL surgery.  She got to meet the Physical Therapist and Athletic Trainer through the injury.

Lindsey created a job shadowing program that became the current student athletic training aide program.

She attended a small college in Missouri to double major in theater and AT.

Lindsey Moved back to Chicago to study for the BOC.  then she got a lot of experience at Northwestern University in Chicago

Blessed to receive a GA position at Northern Arizona University she moved down to Arizona

She worked with a high school for 7-8 years in Illinois, but when job changes were occurring she looked to get back to Arizona.

The incoming Arizona AT Association president was mentored by a NATA HOF member who told me to get involved.

Linsey started with the Governmental Affairs Committee, then secretary and VP.  Now she is the incoming President

What is a unique aspect of Athletic Training in your state?

Working with native American or tribal populations.

What is a big challenge for Athletic Trainers in Arizona?

2 years ago we opened our license and have included dry needling for certified people.

The next challenge is preparing for new licensure  

You're recruiting ATs to work in Arizona…what is your sales pitch?

We have a lot of diversity and some great masters programs: secondary school clinical outreaches, university, industrial professional sports

We are in a stage of growth

Landscape

Lots of diversity in environments

We are a good bunch of ATs, we help each other grow and stay connected.

Contact Us:

Lindsey

Jeremy

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

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Student travel is amazing. I regularly talk with high-school-age students who have never left the Greater Houston Area Jeff Hopp has decided to give up his time off during the summer to take students on trips over the summer.

How did you get started with student travel?

I went on a few trips with my wife as a chaperone since she is a teacher.

My role with EF Tours is to recruit kids and build excitement around the trip.

We offer it to our students AT Aides, Health Science students IB program.

The trips are educational but are mostly about opening people up to travel, culture, and people.

Where were you this summer?

Summer 24 – Ireland, England, and Paris

Where else have you been?

January 23 – Training Trip to Belize

Summer 23 – Costa Rica

Training trips allow you to learn how the trips work.

They are fast-paced and go, go, go

The tour directors pretty much run everything once it starts.

Plane – England – bus – castle – hotel

Wake up early and hit another landmark, a sheepdog demonstration, a bog farm…

Typically from breakfast at 8 am to dinner you are up and going.

Usually a different hotel each night.

On our last day in Paris, I walked 12 miles.

My training trip was in Belize for 5 days

We went to Costa Rica with 25 students

January 2023 – Belize (training trip)

2023 – Costa Rica

2024 – Ireland England

2025 – Italy Greece

2026 – Thailand Cambodia

What company do you use?

EF Tours

1 chaperone travels for free for every 6 kids that pay.

With 30 people you get a private tour.

Why do you spend your summers with students?

These are typically students we would be around all year.  Our trips are not open campus-wide.  Students have become accustomed to the trips.  The kids come into the year looking forward to the opportunity.

Pros and cons of student travel?

We took phones away at dinner and then the kids opened up.  They got noisy at dinner because they were talking to each other, bonding, and creating memories.

As an Athletic Trainer you might have summer duties, so traveling with students could eat into the few weeks you have at home.

My wife was gone for 10 days and she got back at the same time I was leaving for my trip.  We missed half of the summer together.

Get started on your student travels:

https://forms.gle/TjWqkh923cumhYVL8

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

AI Motion Capture can be a game-changer for orthopedics. Dr. Adam Whitman of Medbridge discusses how we can benefit and what we have to be careful of when using AI Motion Capture.

Everything has AI now, what does motion capture with AI mean?

AI has been around since the internet started.

As hardware improves so can the calculations the computers can do.

Self-driving cars example – cows falling from abridge…what would you do vs what would a computer do?

AI does really well in processing huge amounts of data rapidly and consistently.

The physics problems in movement patterns allow for AI to be used for growth and improvement.

The machine has to be fed.

ROM is easy to capture and accurately measure.

The computer is limited in cases like spinal movement.

Theoretical AI Motion Capture concepts

Look at the FMS – they are built to be read against functional norms.  It has been confirmed against many hundreds of thousands of instances.

We are looking for the potential for injury.

Think about scapular winging…it is like building a house on a concrete foundation vs building on a swamp…which one is built to last.

Some algorithms are being fed based on info so they begin looking for biased outcomes.

One AI model determining which patients should be prioritized from an insurance standpoint became racist because it was being fed biased information.

The algorithmic process can remove the bias when it is fed comprehensive data.

ChatGPT is now its own prompt engineer that allows you to ask average questions and get really good answers.

I look forward to when we can feed the movement into the machine and let it run its analysis without our input.

Think about re-captcha…computers are still bad at identifying objects in pictures.  Humans are still needed.

Your movement analysis is your movement fingerprint. That can become a movement profile with each new recording.

What does that look like for the Athletic Trainer?

Emphasis on prevention of injury to the athlete as opposed to reaction-based interventions – reduce the likelihood of an ankle sprain or ACL tear by catching fault movement patterns before the injury occurs

Contact Us:

Dr. Adam Whitman – adam.whitman@medbridge.com

Jeremy Jackson – @SportsMedicineBroadcast on IG

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS

Digital Health is revolutionizing healthcare. Adam Whitman, now with Medbridge, was a practicing clinician for 12 years including running a concierge PT service for NFL athletes.

Adapting to Emerging Tech

(listen to my recent recording with Casey and Kim)

I have my hands in most aspects of the company

More recently I have been focused on improvement in remote care possibilities.

Demand for healthcare is growing

More and more providers are getting burned out and leaving the profession

Are you trying to take my job?

All of our movement assessment uses AI

AI has greatly improved since the beginning of the internet…but it's still a tool for you to do your job.

With billable hours telehealth was a real problem.

What led to the burnout?

Documentation

Lack of income

But it was honestly the patients

People want the provider to fix them without their participation

High school application of Digital Health Skills

HEPs are the simplest way to meet them where they are…on their phones

Digital video to demo the exercises.

Coming soon is a digital self-motion analysis that helps you know when to correct the exercise

The AI helps us understand the acceptable level of adaptation

The digital tool also gives us the opportunity for outcome measure data collection 

With some AI models, the exercises can automatically adjust to tailor to the needs of the patient based on the motion capture

The Non-Clinical PT

What do you bring to the table?

Do you understand what it takes to build? Can you make an app invisible?

You have to address the fundamental problem the person presented you with.

1. It is a tool
2. Break your habits
3. Stop printing papers
   1. Digital prescriptions meet them where they are.
4. Data is far greater than an individual can

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.