Athletic Trainers are the “Background Support”

A medicine ball doesn't have to be used just to workout, but also for therapy according to Shane Vaughan. Photo by Zoe Chin/PantherNOW

Zoe Chin/Sports Director

As one of the University’s three certified athletic trainers on-site, Shane Vaughan know that when it comes to sports, there are goings to be injuries. 

Every time there is an injury, the people at these games who ensure the health of the athletes is the athletic trainers. They are the ones who attend all the games, collegiate, intramural, professional, for men and women teams. Sometimes they are mistaken for nurses, EMTs, and even waterboys or water girls. Yet, athletic trainers play a bigger role than suspected.

“We are the support in the background,” said Vaughan.

Vaughan, who’s been in the profession for six years, chose to become an athletic trainer because it combined his two loves: sports and medicine. Working at FIU gave him the opportunity to teach future athletic trainers how to properly care for injured athletes and being proud of the profession even if it means not getting recognition or applause.

“It’s a thankless job and we’re fine with that,” said Vaughan.

The athletic trainer program is relatively new at FIU, only beginning  14 years ago. FIU offers programs for graduate students aiming to become athletic trainers. Every year, 20-25 graduate students are accepted into this pro

gram and rotate in pairs of two from different sport categories such as high school, college, and professional to get athletic training experience in different situations. 

The profession itself involves continuous practice and hands-on experience. One of the first things Vaughan learned when he was working as an athletic trainer in a high school is that you have to be prepared for any situation.

“I had just left to go to my office and as soon as I came back, there was a basketball player who landed back first on a basketball trying to get a rebound,” he said.

The player couldn’t feel anything from the waist down, he said. Not even the feeling of his teammate touching the ball of his foot, leaving Vaughan to wonder if he had done the proper diagnosis. The basketball player wasn’t able to walk until three weeks after the injury, but Vaughan had diagnosed the injury and helped the player properly.

As a college athletic trainer, Vaughan teaches future athletic trainers the proper way to take care of athletes. He encourages them to always practice and to use association when it comes to making diagnoses. Likewise, he encourages patients to also be honest with the athletic trainers, especially when it comes to knowing their bodies. Even if the injury seems minor, it should still be treated, he said.

While athletic trainers do get the luxury of being on the sidelines it isn’t an easy job. A work-life balance is difficult to maintain, according to Vaughan. 

The hours can vary, depending on where you work, he said. Clinic trailers generally work 9 to 5’s but collegiate and professional trainers have an unstable schedule as it depends on the sports and if the sport is traveling. It can be hard, especially for those with families, he said.

But, to Vaughan, being an athletic trainer is a profession of passion, teaching, and practice. Athletic trainers go through a recertification process every two years that involves taking 50 credits that further their knowledge in the profession. 

When Vaughan trains the graduate students in the program, he finds their strengths and helps them become experts in that strength before focusing on the rest of their abilities to make them proficient in their job.

“Never be afraid to ask questions,” said Vaughan, “Never be afraid to fail.”

He encourages students to ask questions because he wants them to fully understand the procedures of being an athletic trainer and when it comes to failure, Vaughan knows that it can happen sometimes. But, he says it’s important to turn those moments into a teaching opportunity. 

As of now, FIU only has an athletic training center at the Modesto A. Maidique campus at the Recreational Center in WRC 101 that is open for students and athletes. For graduate students who are interested in the sports medic program, they can find more information at cnhs.fiu.edu.

Featured Image by Zoe Chin

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