Preceptors for Athletic Training enjoy the idea of giving back

By Ryan Clark

CHS Communications Director

First, before anything else, they feel it’s best if you know what a preceptor is.

Because that’s what Peter Gray, LAT, and Laurie Blunk, MS, LAT, are talking about in this interiview. They’re discussing their roles as preceptors for UK, and specifically UK’s Athletic Training department.

So … what exactly is a preceptor — and what does one do?

“Students that come in shadow us and work with us and observe us and learn from us, and vice versa,” said Gray, the head athletic trainer at Henry Clay High School and an outreach athletic trainer with UK HealthCare. “You know we get to work with them and and learn from them as well.”

“Yeah, we're preceptors for the students,” said Blunk, the head athletic trainer at Tates Creek High School and an outreach athletic trainer with UK HealthCare. “We just take them under our wing and teach them the ropes. It gives them a more hands-on experience and gives them an ability to practice what they're learning in the classroom.”

Simply, a preceptor is an experienced practitioner who provides supervision during clinical practice and facilitates the application of theory to practice for students and staff learners. And the preceptors at UK are one of the reasons the AT program is so special.

There are, quite literally, dozens of preceptors in Lexington and the surrounding area, each providing different kinds of learning environments. Why do it? Because they love being able to give back. And because they see a bit of themselves in their students.

“We're unique in that we're in close proximity to UK so we get a lot of opportunities,” Gray said. “And it definitely can be rewarding any time you have a hand in a student's education. And maybe you can even feel that drive that they have — kind of like working with an athlete and seeing them succeed.”

Blunk said she also enjoys introducing students to the high school experience. In many times, they will get students who aspire to work with college or professional teams, or in performance art, or other large entities.

“I like to kind of show them what the high school setting is all about, and why I'm passionate about being here,” she said. “I feel like it's very different from some of the other settings they may see. You know, you have these kids, and a lot of times they play multiple sports. You develop great relationships with not only the athletes, but the families — and that's not something you typically see, I think, in a pro or college setting.”

Both said they take pride in working with the high school athletes, and it’s something they pass down as preceptors.

“Just seeing those bonds we've built with those athletes is very meaningful,” she said.

Students can learn everything from taping to injury evaluations to formulating a rehab plan, they said. The students get to know what it’s like to work in the traning room and interact with the athletes.

“We might jump ahead with some students and show them things they haven't learned in the classroom yet,” Blunk said. “I try to let them do as much as they’re comfortable with, but also push them out of their comfort zones a little bit.”

“Usually, you know, there's a difference between what you learn in the classroom and what it looks like in real life,” Gray said. “I like to just try to give them the real -life experience — take what you learned in school and in your classwork and your research and things that you're doing at UK and let's just try to apply it here.”

Gray noted how difficult it is when students are in college, trying to figure out what they want to do.

“I kind of remember a little bit about being in college and trying to figure out your career path — it's not easy,” he said. “When you don't have the experience, you can't just pick something out of the blue. You have to experience different settings to know what you like and what you don’t.”

And that’s where preceptors like Gray and Blunk come in.

“This is how you find out what you really want to do,” Blunk said. “There might be something out there you never thought you’d see yourself doing, and you fall in love with it. And all it takes is a different setting, or a different preceptor to show you the way.”

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March is National Athletic Training Month

National Athletic Training Month is held every March in order to spread awareness about the important work of athletic trainers. The College of Health Sciences will be recognizing and honoring our Athletic Training program with profiles and stories throughout this month.