May 22, 2017Passing the Torch
There are many ways a certified athletic trainer can contribute to the success and growth of the athletic training profession. Providing outstanding care, serving on committees or writing groups, producing scholarship in the form of articles or presentations, or educating athletic training students are some examples. Another way to contribute to the profession is through mentorship. By mentoring young athletic training students or newly certified athletic trainers — whom I will refer to as “young professionals” — a seasoned athletic trainer can help strengthen their professional growth during a critical time in their career.
I am so passionate about mentoring young professionals because I have benefited greatly from mentorship myself. During my undergraduate years at Ohio University, Ken Wright, DA, ATC, an Assistant Athletic Trainer at the time, and Skip Vosler, MS, ATC, who was the Head Athletic Trainer, provided me great mentorship as an athletic training student. Ken then sent me to one of his mentors, Don Lowe, MA, ATC, then the Coordinator of Sports Medicine at Syracuse University, when I completed my undergraduate degree. These mentors provided me with insights, opportunities, and the discipline to develop my ability as an athletic training professional.
A mentor isn’t someone who “makes” the person they mentor. Rather, a mentor is someone who provides an avenue for the young professional to take toward their own development.
I also had an academic mentor at Ohio, the late Fred “Fritz” Hagerman, PhD, who was an exercise physiology and anatomy professor. I learned a great deal from Dr. Hagerman, who mentored me in the ways of true learning, instructing, academia, and intellectual rigor. His mentorship, nomination of me for the Dean’s Achievement Scholarship, and assistance in tapping into Omicron Delta Kappa is something I will always be grateful for. Now, I try to “pay it forward” with the students I instruct and mentor as an Assistant Professor and Program Director of Athletic Training Education at Concordia University Ann Arbor. Along with my nearly 40 years of clinical experience and quarter-century of instructing students, the athletic training students at Concordia will benefit from the lessons I’ve learned from the great mentors I have been blessed to have.
A mentor isn’t someone who “makes” the person they mentor. Rather, a mentor is someone who provides an avenue for the young professional to take toward their own development. A mentor identifies a young professional who has the potential to grow substantially in their quest for professionalism and holistic care of patients and athletes. They see in the young professional the ability and eagerness to develop to their fullest potential and the willingness to be evaluated and receive input on their development.
Once identified, the mentor develops a professional relationship with the young professional. Setting high, yet achievable, standards in performance, plus providing continuous and contemporaneous feedback, is important. Correct or reinforce outcomes right away to create a learning environment to help guide the young professional.
Furthermore, as a seasoned certified athletic trainer, you know the challenges and opportunities that will face the young professional. Be sure to talk about them and encourage the young professional to think about their own development based on the normative expectations within the profession, not some idealistic view of what to expect as a certified athletic trainer.
The athletic training profession is what I call the “problem profession.” We deal with or attempt to minimize or eliminate problems all day long. Encourage the young professional to toughen up their skin to deal with questions and criticism regarding their work, for they will surely face that dynamic in their career from athletes, patients, coaches, parents, administrators, or, in extreme circumstances, attorneys during litigation.
That being said, how much the young professional decides to take your advice is up to them. Not all young professionals want or are receptive to mentorship. There were times I attempted to mentor a young professional who took the high expectations I had for them the wrong way and rebuffed my attempts to help them. I learned from those situations and channeled my efforts in mentorship to those more receptive and eager to grow.
Of all the contributions I have made in my career, mentoring the next generation of athletic trainers is near the top of the list in satisfaction because I will be able to care for athletes I will never meet through the things I taught young athletic trainers who were just starting out. After all, one of the all-time great athletic trainers, the late Otho Davis, MEd, ATC, former Executive Director of the NATA and former Head Athletic Trainer for the Philadelphia Eagles, continues to care for patients and athletes after his passing in 2000 because he mentored Don, who in turn mentored both Ken and me, and we in turn mentored other athletic trainers, who today provide care from the lessons they learned from all of us. I routinely hear from those I’ve mentored, usually after they used a technique or approach they learned from me (and Otho, Don, and Ken) to save a life or care for a difficult injury. The same lineage in care is true for so many other great mentors in the athletic training profession.
Passing the torch of athletic training to young athletic training professionals is the goal of mentorship. I am so proud of all those I have mentored as they have added to the growth of the athletic training profession. For those of us fortunate to have had great mentors, please reach out to them and thank them for providing you that avenue to success you now enjoy. Consider passing the torch yourself from your mentor to another young professional to continue the future success of the athletic training profession.
