Extra Blog: May

When I think about what's coming to an end and what I've personally left behind, I realize it isn't much. I made an effort to pass classes and get through things but nothing lasting and memorable. Partly due to lack of motivation causing me to stick to the norm and not do anything out of the norm. Doing extra activities was something I loved to do and felt was rewarding but this year wasn't there. I definitely had my share of fun and memories but compared to other years this one scored pretty low. 

Now when I look toward the future I see it as an opportunity to make changes and deal with certain consequences and learn from those mistakes. It is also a scary feeling not knowing what's next and having that actual freedom to do as I please is definitely different. It's going to be a way for me to hopefully find something that makes me happy and is enjoyable

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
I am most proud of having an audience that actually paid attention who understood what I was teaching. It gave my presentation some meaning, like it was worth peoples time

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

P-

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

P-

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

Mentorship really was a benefit for me because it provided a lot of answers for me because my topic was a more experience based/hands-on topic. I appreciated mentorship because it was a huge learning experience for me
(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I would have found better articles and added more depth to my research because it would have made my block presentation a lot better

(5) Finding Value
How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

It helped me narrow down my possible career in the future. Senior project also taught me about meeting deadlines, finding meaningful research, and it allowed me to make connections with other athletic trainers. Meeting deadlines is going to be important especially in college and when I start working so being able to turn things in on time was a definite skill strengthened by the senior project. Being able to find research that has meaning on my own by means other than the internet or google was a definite benefit. I also made connections to athletic trainers on the collegiate level (mt. sac) giving me more access to information when I need it. 

Blog 22: Mentorship

Mentor: Brittany Menchaca, Southlands Christian

Interpretive: What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing I gained from mentorship was not only the hands on experience but the more personal skills that come with being an athletic trainer that could not be learned from the textbook and research. It was learning about talking with each individual athlete and getting to know who they are and relating that with treating their injuries. The hands on experience gained came in the form of learning the skills such as taping, stretching, and rehabilitation exercises.

Applied: How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

Each time I work with Brittany, I pick up on the repetitive aspects of treating an injury, allowing me to notice what important components are needed to treat an athletes injury. I also notice the skill needed to make adjustments to those repetitive actions is what makes her an athletic trainer.

Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

What is the best way for an athletic trainer to treat an injury?

1. Knowing the anatomy of the injured area

2. Proper initial diagnosis of the injury

3. An athletic trainer can best treat an injury through rehabilitation exercises

Rehabilitation exercises are the best way to treat an injury because it is a way of treatment that is flexible and can adjust to each individual athletes injury. Rehabilitation exercises can change based on reevaluation which check what work for an athlete and what exercises better suit the injured athlete. It sets the course for an athletes recovery, focusing on strengthening the muscles around the injured area and returning those muscles and ligaments to their state prior to the injury.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

The process involved with coming up with this answer came with hands-on experience while working with my mentor. I observed that initial diagnosis was important but in most cases they were not always 100% accurate. Rehab was something that fit each athletes needs and at the same time aided in the treatment of the athlete.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

Knowing which exercises suited which injuries was a struggle for me. Researching the effects of each exercise and what muscles and ligaments were targeted with each resolved the issue and allowed me to develop a rehab schedule for an athletes injury.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

My mentor Brittany Menchaca provided crucial information, hands-on experience working with athletes, and suggestions for research topics.

 Arnheim's principles of athletic training is a textbook providing the technical aspects of athletic training that I referred to when trying to make connections from mentorship.

 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons provided articles with rehabilitation exercises and post injury treatments.

Extra Blog: April

During mentorship I noticed more and more of the incorporation of technology into every activities. The head AT at Southlands Christian began by cataloging each athletes injury on her computer and what initial symptoms and diagnosis was given each time the athlete met with her. When I asked her the reason for this she said it was a way to refer back to prior notes on each athlete along with being able to carry that information with her anywhere she went via her phone. That technology benefited me as well because while she was teaching me the anatomical structures of the body, she made it easier to translate through 3D visuals that explained motions of certain muscle groups. This incorporation of technology has benefited sports medicine in many ways aside from just treating an injury.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content:  

LITERAL
(a) “I, Tommy Trang, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) Source: Brittany Menchaca 909-912-2402 certified athletic trainer. Arnheim's Principals of Athletic Training.
(d) My Independent Component 2 was me doing more hours with my mentor, spending a full day with her and applying the skills she taught me.   


INTERPRETIVE 
Defend your work and explain the component's significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  
The 30 hours I completed were spent gaining skill based experience, in working with athletes and performing test and aiding in the rehab of athletes.


APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

This component supported and provided information on my second and third answers. My second answer being, conducting a proper initial diagnosis where during my hours I would shadow while my mentor diagnosed injuries and eventually I was making initial diagnosis as my mentor would agree or disagree with my diagnosis. My third answer is rehabilitation exercise, where on non-game days my mentor and I would work on rehabbing athletes injuries. Conducting injury relevant exercises such as rotator cuff stretches, calf raises, or ankle strengthening exercises. 

Extra Blog March

This video has a great visual display of the Achilles tendon rupture that was suffered by Kobe Bryant. The surgeon also makes initial diagnosis based on what he sees from the footage of the injury. Later on in the video, he explains how he would treat the injury surgically. This video was a great aid in understanding the injury itself and how to treat it.

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Preparation

1. What injury do you feel is the most nagging injury and what efforts do you take in preventing them?
2. What new aid do you feel is the most beneficial to you and the athlete?
3. What are the most crucial steps in treating an injury, why do you believe so?
4. What daily activities do you feel benefits your treatments?
5. What strategies do you take in motivating players not interested in training?
6. If it came to athletes new to training, how would you introduce them into the daily operations of therapy?
7. Do you prefer a strict treatment schedule or a flexible schedule, why?
8. What signs do you look for in athletes trying to hide injuries?
9. How do you deal with players avoiding treatment?
10. What kind of environment created when athletes do not report their injury?
11. How does the necessity of making quick decisions effect the athlete?
12. When testing for injuries, why is the proper initial diagnosis important?
13. What are the effects of an improper diagnosis?
14. How do you work to create an open environment between you and the athlete?
15. An open line of communication is crucial because?
16. Do you work to push yourself into an athletes life health wise?
17. When analyzing an injury does performing test work better than a visual assessment?
18. If there was a critical emergency what would you do first?
19. What do you have the least amount of patience for?
20. What do you do when an athlete does not meet his goal in treatment?
21. What type of introduction would you make into a new team you are working for?

Blog 17: Answer 3

What is the best way an athletic trainer can treat an injury?

An athletic trainer can best treat an injury through rehabilitation exercises 

• rehabilitation exercises strengthen muscles of certain areas where injuries have occurred
• Aids in dealing with nagging injuries and restores the injured area to pre-injury condition
• In the case of surgery, rehab allows the injury to heal in the correct manner

Prentice, William. "Arnheim's Principles of Athletic Training: A Competency-Based Approach." McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 13 edition. January 18, 2008. Print.

although you can not predict injuries, you can lessen the severity of an injury through prehabilitation exercises.

Extra Blog February

This video is a great example of my third answer. In the video the doctor is examining a patient and performing different test to diagnose an injury. I like this video because the examination is very detailed and is easy to follow.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

How can an athletic trainer best treat an injury?
2.  What is your first answer?
Knowing the anatomy of the injured area
3.  What is your second answer? 

Proper initial diagnosis of the injury 

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• If an injury is incorrectly diagnosed the athlete can be treated incorrectly, it can be fatal in the case of a misdiagnosed concussion
• It can result in a quicker return time for an athlete due to a correct diagnosis there is no need for extra rehab that is not necessary
• Proper initial diagnosis will allow for more accurate treatment especially in joints such as the shoulder or knee

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?This website gives credible information of diagnosing as well as treating injuries. The website goes into details about certain injury diagnosis signs which includes details about on and off field causes.

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org

6.  What other source supports your answer?
Arnheims is a great book because it teaches you methods of how to diagnose and treat certain injuries through test and proven diagnosis methods

Prentice, William. "Arnheim's Principles of Athletic Training: A Competency-Based Approach." McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 13 edition. January 18, 2008. Print.

7.  Tie this together with a concluding thought.
This answer is one of the main steps needed other than, the actual skill to treat an injury, to help an athlete recover in time. My answers so far have all pointed toward providing proper treatment for an athletes injury.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For my second independent component, I would like to perform extra hours at a different establishment other than the athletic training office at Southlands.
2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I plan on mentoring at Casa Colina, and aiding/shadowing the head PT
3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

This aspect of hours will help me understand a different aspect of athletic training which is the therapy part of it. Doing this will expose me to a more set plan of treatment of injuries.

Independent Component 1

(a) I,  Tommy Trang, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 36.5 hours of work. 
(b) Source: Brittany Menchaca 909-912-2402 certified athletic trainer. Arnheim's Principals of Athletic Training.
(d) During my regular mentorship hours, I would just shadow my mentor and get different advice about certain situations. During my independent component hours I got more hands on experience and learned the basics of athletic training.

These hours apply to my project because learning the basics of athletic training is something I can do without taking all the complex classes that do not come until I get into college.

This component help me understand the fundamental aspects of a very complicated topic. Doing this also helped me gain hands on experience as well as teaching me essential skills for athletic training.

Extra blog January

The Junior Varsity boys basketball team had a game but it was raining really hard. There was a leek in roof of the gym so the refs deemed it unsafe for there to be an official CIF game. They ended up making the game a little half court scrimmage and we were watching for different things that could possibly cause injury to either teams athletes. Brittany told me that a situation like this is a type of prevention of injury, she said the blame was partially on her because she should have checked the court before game time. She explained that something like this would normally be the Athletic trainers job, to inspect the field or gym for potential dangers.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of the content that I spoke about during my presentation, because when I first drafted my lesson plan I didn't do well. So me finding something I could present on was satisfying for me.

2. a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

P 
    

 b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
I believe i met all the P requirements and presented well enough that interprets what I have learned so far in my project.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

The use of technology and the items I brought up with me definitely helped me with my project/presentation

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

I would have thought of a better activity or make use of my time a little better by knowing my content a little better.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

My second answer might be "The best way an athletic trainer can accurately diagnose and treat an athletes injury is by making a correct initial diagnosis."

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 Hours

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
I'm doing my mentorship at Southlands Christian High School
2.   Who is your contact?
Brittany Menchaca
909-912-2402
3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?
Total hours that I have complete have amounted to 10 hours. If my summer hours are to be included, which I completed with Jason Trinidad, I should have 22 hours.
4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
The 10 hours of service I completed was me basically shadowing my mentor. She gave me advice rather than teaching me skills, because i'm going to be learning that on my own. She also gave me insight to what I should be on the look out for like certain schools to apply to, or what classes to take in college. She also shared different contacts that she has connections to that I can possibly interview in the future.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

Content:

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

I believe it is not a top priority to consistently attend mentorship but working on my project frequently is a key due to the research required to learn about different injuries that relate to my topic. Over break I got caught up on my RC notes. I did not go to southlands over break because there was no school and no sports had practice, so i learned more about different injuries.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

I learned more about different types of injuries on and off the field, its useful to help diagnose and treat different injuries that I might encounter. I pulled this information from my mentor's Athletic Training book.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

I would talk to the athletic trainer at Bassett High School or Mt. Sac due the their vast amounts of experience in their fields of work.