Leadership comes in many different forms, most of which are not always obvious.  Often times the most obvious leader appears to be the person in charge, however there are several opportunities to serve as a leader from the middle.  This is particularly true in the physician practice setting where athletic trainers are mid-level healthcare providers, but play a…

We have become a pill popping society.  There is a pill for just about anything you can think of; weight loss, pain, inflammation, hormones, the list goes on.  Many of these may be taken by our patients and should become a concern of ours.  If you don’t understand medications, you better take the time to…

Recently during an interview with DAT students I was asked how I balance my career, my various committee appointments, and my personal life. “I don’t” I replied. The answer resulted in a brief silence from the group. I went on to explain that work life balance is not something I have right now. That some…

Athletic trainers (ATs) have been practicing in various clinical settings for decades; however, the majority of those settings are focused around orthopedics and sports medicine, which makes complete sense. A main focus of an AT’s education is orthopedic evaluation, diagnosis, and rehabilitation making it natural for ATs to lean towards a position within an orthopedic…

Disruptive innovation describes innovation that creates a new market or value network that disrupts the current market. This is the idea that current services can be reframed to do something different or for a different audience, which disrupts what is viewed as the “norm”. If we consider where athletic trainers in the physician practice began,…

We were all students at one time or another, and then have, or will be, taking the leap to transition to practice. These processes are scary, confusing, and intimidating (just ask me, I not too long ago went through both of these things, even at the same time!). But, those feelings can be greatly mitigated…