National Athletic Training Month: ‘Have an open mind’
By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director
“Why?” Some may ask. “Why is it important to focus on athletic training for an entire month?”
Skylar Carmichael has an answer for that.
“It is important to have this designation because it allows for recognition and awareness about the essential role athletic trainers play — not only in healthcare, but injury prevention and rehabilitation as well,” said Carmichael, a 23-year-old graduate student from Winchester, Ky. “National Athletic Training Month helps to educate anyone from coaches, athletes, administrators, and the public about the knowledge and expertise athletic trainers bring to healthcare and sports medicine teams/programs. It allows for advocacy by highlighting athletic trainers at all levels and the impact that they bring to the overall well-being of athletes, their performance, and their safety.”
How would Skylar know? She is an athletic training student, currently finishing up her last semester of a Master’s degree in UK’s program.
After an undergraduate degree and volleyball career at Wilmington College in Ohio, Skylar came to UK to further her career in Athletic Training. Through clinical immersions and other experience (with, among other groups, UK’s soccer and football teams, the Lexington Sporting Soccer Club and the Lexington Fire Department), she was able to land a job offer before she’s even graduated — and it will keep her here in Kentucky. Providing she passes her board exams, she will take a position at Morehead State University as an athletic trainer for their women’s soccer and cheerleading squads.
In celebration of National Athletic Training Month, we caught up with Skylar to chat about why she came to UK, why it’s important to celebrate the profession and what advice she might give to others interested in following down a similar path.
Here’s 5 questions with … Skylar Carmichael:
Why did you choose UK?
I chose the University of Kentucky because as soon as I visited the program, I felt a close-knit family feeling that I felt within my smaller undergraduate program.
Why did you choose Athletic Training (AT)?
I chose AT because I realized how much of an impact they had within the world of sports. I wanted to be able to build close-knit relationships with athletes and be with them throughout their athletic careers from before injury, during, and after. I also fell in love with being able to be a part of watching athletes get back to the sport they love and being able to advocate for them throughout their athletic careers.
Why is it important to have a variety of clinical experiences and preceptors?
Throughout my time at UK, I have had many different clinical rotations and many preceptors with different levels of educations and trainings. I think this has allowed me to be able to go into positions and different environments with an open mind and willingness to learn and absorb anything I can. From this I have been able to find things that have worked for me and things that I will be taking into my own practice as an athletic trainer in the future.
What have been your favorite moments while here at UK?
Some of my favorite moments throughout my clinical rotations were being able to educate and advocate for athletes and the profession at all different levels from high school to professional level athletes — and even within non-traditional settings. I also enjoyed being able to learn about other things that can affect injuries like sports psychology and nutrition, which allowed me to further my understanding of how health care professionals can collaborate for the betterment of the athletes.
What do you hope your future looks like?
I would like for my future in athletic training to be full of being able to educate and advocate for athletes within the game of soccer. I would love to be able to be a part of providing care and possible prevention for these athletes so they can perform to the best of their ability on and off the pitch. My goal is to allow them to live healthy and pain free lives post athletics as well as during.
BONUS question: What is some advice you would give to a student interested in going down a similar path?
Have an open mind about all the clinical rotations and classes that you will go through because they all have an important impact on your journey to become a well-rounded athletic trainer.