Week #3 Prompt: Exploring Writing Process

During this week I called my old Athletic Trainer from my old high school. I asked her a couple questions about her field and about the writing skills she needs in her profession. She was very generous and gave me way more then I needed to know. After our conversation on the phone I finally got an actual insight on what it means to be an Athletic Trainer and how exciting it is to get into. The questions are listed below.

1) Whats an average day for an Athletic Trainer?
The average day for her as an Athletic Trainer consists of starting at 3:15 p.m. and leaving around 9:30 p.m. (if not attending games). During the day she does a lot of taping for athletes and also icing the athletes down if injured. During that time she also looks at new injuries and help communicate injuries to the coaches and parents so they know how bad of a condition it is.

2) How long do you work on a regular day?

She usually stays at the high school from 3:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. but sometimes stays later based on if a game is running late or if she needs to finish up some paperwork. Also preparing for the next day causes her to be at the high school late.

3) Is having good writing skills important in this field?

She told me it's very important. She handles participation form all the way to writing up injury sheets. It crucial that you have a good reading and writing background in this profession. Most of her time consist of looking over papers. She also writes a equipment form so that the school can buy her supplies for her profession.

4) When you have to write for your profession, what do you write?

She writes a lot of equipment forms. A lot of Athletic Training equipment runs out, like tape for example. So every month she needs a new supply of equipment. She has to write how much they need, what kind they need, and how much they need of it. If the day gets really bad she would have to write up an injury report and explain what happened and what she did to prevent it from getting worse.

5) When you write for your profession, how do you write them?

She says you have to be demanding and assertive. If it comes to buying supplies, she says you need to demand them because the high school just doesn't understand what they go through and what type of equipment works. When she's writing up an injury report, she needs to know what she's talking about because other professional will be looking at her report as well. In this field you need to be a professional.

6) What does it truly mean to be an Athletic Trainer?

"Being an Athletic Trainer means you'll always be around to help people in need. You have to be smart and know what you're doing but you also need to have a good sense of humor in this field as well. This job has a lot of frustrating times but if you make the best of it you'll enjoy it. Preventing injury and taking care of people is what you'll be doing and if you that sounds good to you then this is the dream job."

It was nice to finally chat with my old Athletic Trainer from my old high school. It's nice to actually hear someones input on a profession I'm actually trying to get in and who actually has experience in it as well.