Classes—there are too many to pick from—It is no wonder students tend to choose the ones they know. But what about the lesser known electives? Each month, this column will feature a class and explain what it is all about.
Care and Prevention of Student Athletic Injuries is run by teacher Lauren Bolander, in periods 1 and 4.
In this class, lessons cover emergency care, rehabilitation, and all injuries and medical mishaps that could happen in the sports field. Bolander is currently teaching the anatomical terms for the basic body systems.
Bolander recommends that this class should be taken by students who are interested in sports medicine or the medical field in general. This class is especially made for those who want to become athletic trainers in the future.
“We go over pretty much everything that is sports med,” Bolander said. “It’s more intensive on the athletic training side of things. So we go over the background of sports med and everything that includes for all the different professions.”
Students can expect a balance of hands-on labs and lecture-heavy lessons. All work is assigned in class, and Bolander’s goal is zero homework, although she gives extra time to complete missing work. She also creates labs to simulate lessons she’s taught.
“We have a wound care lab that’s coming up that should be pretty cool,” Bolander said. “Kids really like that because we make fake special effects wounds, and we learn how to cover them, because that’s a big thing for the profession.”
Elena Ocasio, a newly transferred student in Bolander’s first period class, joined to learn about health. Since being in the class, Ocasio has learned the causes and preventions of both heat exhaustion and skin diseases related to sports.
“I’ve learned a lot in the time I’ve been in the class, and I’m sure I’ll learn more,” Ocasio said, “I think I’d want to take it again if I could.”
If students would like to take up a higher level course of this class, they can. This class is introductory to the Student Athletic Aid Training Program, taught by sports medicine teacher Keith Miessau.
In Care and Prevention, there is an element of improvisation, as students will be taught how to deal with injuries and sicknesses as soon as they happen, then follow up care afterwards.
“We have to improvise a lot, and we’re one of the professions that sees our patients every single day,” Bolander said. “That’s one of the cool things about what we do.”
Bolander teaches a broad overview on all medical topics, ranging from sicknesses to injuries, and educates students on how to prevent and treat them. With this class, students do not just learn the topics, but how to implement them in life, whether they choose to join the medical field or not.
“I like to say athletic trainers—we’re kind of the jack of all trades,” Bolander said.
