Oct 20, 2016In This Together
After listening to the Hall of Fame induction speeches at a NATA Convention many years ago, I have a vivid memory of one of my former students remarking that almost all of the inductees had started their acceptance speeches by apologizing to their families. They were sorry for how much family time they had missed while they were putting in long hours working as athletic trainers. My student expressed a real fear of becoming what he had just seen — a lifelong athletic trainer who regretted the hours he had spent caring for other peoples’ kids while absent from his own children’s lives.
His remarks have stayed with me ever since, and they’ve played a significant role in how we’ve tried to create a positive working environment at Ithaca College. I am proud of the fact that we haven’t had a great deal of staff turnover in the nearly 30 years that I’ve been the Head Athletic Trainer. Many of our staff members have been here for more than 10 years and provide continuity to both the athletic training services and athletic training education sides of our program.
One of the ways we try to better our athletic trainers’ lives is by giving some flexibility in our morning schedule. We have three athletic training clinics on campus, but only one of them is open from 9 a.m. to noon. Currently, each of our staff members is responsible for supervising one morning clinic each week. For example, I take Wednesdays, and other staff members are responsible for the other days of the week. On those days when I’m not at the clinic, I might come in a little later, spend that time working in my office on administrative tasks or class preparation, or simply run errands that I didn’t get to on the weekend because I was working. Having that flexibility, even if it just means arriving at 10 a.m. rather than 9 a.m. a day or two per week, has had a huge positive impact on our lives.
A second factor that has made our working environment positive is our willingness to be kid-friendly. Many of our staff members, myself included, have had our kids here in the office and athletic training clinic on days that they were off from school or weekends when we needed to work. We’ve enjoyed getting to know one another’s children and, more importantly, it has allowed athletes and coaches to see a different side of us than they usually see when we’re in our faculty or athletic training roles.
The third effort we make to enhance our working environment is attempting to limit the number of times a staff athletic trainer has to work both weekend days… We aren’t always successful, but it’s a goal we strive for each week.
Athletes also seem to enjoy it when our kids are present. Many of them have remarked that one of our kids reminded them of their own younger sibling and how much they missed them while away at school. On a selfish note, I’ve always felt like many of these intercollegiate student-athletes are good role models for my kids, so I’m happy when they are around each other.
The third effort we make to enhance our working environment is attempting to limit the number of times a staff athletic trainer has to work both weekend days. We do this by utilizing our graduate assistants as much as possible for coverage at Sunday practices, especially during the non-traditional and overlap seasons. While we, like many schools, seem to be chronically understaffed, we have done as much as we can with the staff we have to provide one day off each week for full-time faculty/athletic trainers. Given that we still have multiple Sunday practices and contests, we aren’t always successful, but it’s a goal we strive for each week.
Lastly, we try to be flexible and cooperative with each other. I work with IC men’s soccer, while a colleague works with women’s soccer, and we usually practice at the same time on fields that are near each other. If one of us needs to leave early for a child’s school or sports activity, a doctor’s appointment, or the occasional date night with a spouse, we let the coaches know, and the remaining athletic trainer provides coverage for both teams. Other staff members have similar arrangements. Knowing we support each other and are willing to cover for each other makes a big difference in our lives.
I realize not all of these things are possible at all institutions. However, anything that can be done to provide some flexibility to an athletic trainer’s schedule usually results in a happier, and thus more effective, staff member.
