Ashley Lage | Staff Writer
Though many people have their own ideas of what being an athletic trainer is like, Buena Vista University’s (BVU) own Abby Tibbetts shared what a day in the life of an athletic trainer (AT) truly and realistically is.
“Most people think we tape ankles, and that’s it, but we are recognized as an Allied health professional. We are involved with any student athlete healthcare issues. Our goal is keeping athletes healthy as a whole, not just the skeletal and muscular component,” Tibbetts said.
Just like any other position in the workforce, trainers are very busy all the time. Tibbetts explained that one day is quite unlike any other. On a typical day, she arrives at the university between 8 and 8:30 a.m. For the whole department, most of the education component happens within the morning hours. Just like her students, Tibbetts class schedule changes by semester.
“In the fall, I teach the evaluation class to AT students, upper level courses in the major, as well as introduction courses. The workload of classes is heavier in fall, but the workload with the teams is heavier in the spring,” Tibbetts said.
Trainers are just like everyone else and need to fuel up with lunch. As for Tibbetts, lunch is one of her “free” times where she runs errands and lets her dog out. After lunch is when the hands-on work starts.
Each of the athletic trainers are assigned to specific sports. This year is Tibbets’ third year working with the softball team. Pre-practice preparations start for her and her AT students approximately an hour and a half before practice. This depends on where practice is being held and on the amount of athletes that come in and the amount of supplies needed. This time also includes athletes coming in for rehab or pre-practice treatment. Tibbetts also mentioned this pre-practice time is where much of education happens as students have to evaluate what treatment should be used as well as creating a schedule for the treatment types.
While in practice, preparations are made for post-practice. This mostly includes addressing what injuries have occurred during practice and making ice bags; the softball team uses a ton of ice! Finally, when practice is over, Tibbetts is usually around for 20 minutes to address the injuries, make follow-up appointments, and evaluate post-practice needs of athletes.
Research also occupies Tibbets’ time. Not only does she do research, but she oversees students with different research topics they choose to pursue. Tibbets still works with the University of Iowa on a longitudinal study on chronic injuries.
As for other parts of her life, a balance comes when she shuts off the “work mode” and goes home to come to a sense of peace. She also tries to get as much done at the office before leaving so it does not carry into her time at home.
Tibbetts dreams that in her next life she would like to be a meteorologist or a tornado chaser, but she does believe she ended up in the right career.
“I didn’t have an athletic trainer in high school so I didn’t know about the profession. I started out at the University of Northern Iowa and ran track and was around the athletic training staff at track practice. One of my good friends was applying to the major there, and I wanted to do something medical field related, such as nursing or become a physician’s assistant. This is a good fit; I enjoy the teaching and clinical part. It’s a good mix,” Tibbetts said.
After taking it all in, there are a lot of undercover tasks athletic trainers deal with and immerse themselves in. Tibbetts is a great example of just how hard someone can work to do great things for not only her, but others as well. She is also heading up the Buena Vista Athletic Trainers Society (BVATS), which has a home run derby fundraiser coming up Wednesday, April 17, after the home softball game against Simpson. Come out and help the BVATS and converse with Tibbetts.
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Photos by Tyson Domingo
