We have a fundamental duty to make our communities better.
Athletic Training in schools is at its heart a public health activity. The student trainers work to give the people in our community, both within the school and the families and neighbors around the school, information to make better healthcare decisions. This takes the form of students’ interactions in person, with their families, in friend groups, and on social media that all not only refute misconceptions but put forth how to get reliable information. Student trainers not only work actively to prevent injury and disease in their athletes and classmates but also provide families and friends with the tools to prevent injury and disease as well.
Students in our Program are Public Health Resources.
The students organize themselves into the Public Health Cadet Corps to facilitate their work in their communities. They take inspiration from the public health service and the work of the Federal and State Surgeon Generals. Through their peer interactions, they work to inform their fellow students of their rights, resources, and sources of information. It is through these students, empowered by this mission, that allow our campus and our communities to be healthier. Even if a Sports Medicine student does not pursue a medical career, they are still trained to act a trusted neighbor, citizen, and family member to promote the wellbeing of all.
Toxic Stress
Students are under intense pressure. More now than ever with social media, there is no respite from the pressure, it follows them everywhere. Teens and adults need to be able to process and decompress before the stress becomes continuous. In little children, this is even more critical as they can lack the ability to compensate. This can be from peer pressures, insecurity, adverse childhood events or ACEs. This constant activation of your fight or flight response can lead to extremely negative health outcomes. Thus a key focus of our Sports Medicine program is to empower the students with resources for the neighborhoods and families to identify and provide access to help.
Mental Health
Mental health is key to physical health. Making sure that there are positive voices in our community that can act as gateways to mental health systems and supports can create harm reductions in our communities that affect all other aspects of health. This goes beyond just crisis services to be a resource for more long-term issues such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other issues that their peers are struggling with. Our duty isn’t to be mental health professionals but to connect those in need with the knowledge of resources within the community. If someone you know is in active crisis please call 916-787-8860 or 1-888-886-5401; if it an emergency call 911.
Legal Understanding
People have rights that most of the public is unaware of or has an inaccurate understanding of. Therefore, as public health actors within our communities, we are able to learn about those rights and connect their peers and neighbors to advocates in the county. Teens especially need to understand their rights that are protected by the State of California in terms of consent, notifications, and autonomy. Having knowledgeable peers is a boost for a teen as teens are more likely to listen to them. This also provides ripple effects as knowledgeable teens become knowledgeable college students, knowledgeable citizens, and eventually parents of their own. However, the students also develop a deeper understanding of their reproductive health and rights as well through their medical exploration. It is important that the students understand the law and the medical facts and then have discussions with their family and community leaders to develop their own morals based on their own cultural norms. They then pass this information out to their peers. This can make our schools, colleges, and public spaces healthier as more individuals understand consent and their rights.
Injury Prevention
Preventable injuries are a primary cause of harm for teens and the community. The students work on three different ideas when it comes to injury prevention. They are focused on sport and activity injury prevention for their peers and community. The students also recognize the hazards that cars pose and are committed to making sure that their peers understand how to make positive choices with their newfound freedoms. The students function as overwatch, planners, educators, and interventionists to limit the number of injuries sustained by our community.
Substance Abuse Prevention
Teens are a critical demographic for reducing harmful substances in our communities. Tobacco companies understand the need to “hook em young” so the focus of our efforts is on our peers. Understanding the risks associated with substance use and how to identify those risks in their peers and community. Our public health focus looks from a perspective of health and not of law enforcement; so societal, psychological, emotional, and physiological motivations and pressures are investigated. The students are tasked to be resources for their peers and their families; identify friends at risk and connect them to resources; be knowledgeable about state/school/local policies; and be active participants in the governmental process to advocate for themselves and their peers.
