About

Michael Atkinson received the 2011 TOSA Medical Entry Level Scholarship Award on March 18 at the Mid-America Athletic Trainers Association awards dinner in Omaha, NE.  The scholarship is selected on a combination of academic achievement, character, athletic training abilities, and a desire for a career in athletic training.  Michael received $500, complimentary registration for the annual meeting and a $100 stipend to attend the meeting.  He will be graduating from the Athletic Training Education Program in December 2011 and currently holds a 3.95 GPA.

(Smithville, Missouri) March 17, 2011—Todd Schuetz, Assistant Superintendent of the Smithville R-II School District in Smithville, Missouri announced the selection of Dr. Matt Teeter as the Smithville Middle School Principal beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.  Dr. Teeter is currently an assistant principal at Lakeview Middle School in the Park Hill School District where he has served for the past two years.  In addition, Dr. Teeter teaches graduate courses for William Woods University.  Prior to his experiences at Park Hill,  Dr. Teeter was an assistant principal at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in the Jefferson City School District and a PE teacher/athletic director in Mexico, MO.  Dr. Teeter holds an Educational Doctorate degree from St. Louis University, an Educational Specialist Degree from William Woods University, and Masters and Bachelors degrees from Truman State University.  From a very competitive field of 67 applicants, Dr. Teeter was a finalist of three for this position.

The Department of Health and Senior Services has a USDA funded program for Summer Food Service sites that operates statewide.  The program may have some paid internships available for the St. Louis, Kansas City and Cape Girardeau areas this summer, perhaps when students would be in their hometowns.  The work would include visiting certain child feeding sites and preparing reports.  We anticipate this to be about 20 hours per week.  Please contact Ann McCormack, MPH, RD at Ann.mccormack@dhss.mo.gov. Or you may also contact Susan White, MED, MPA at Susan.White@dhss.mo.gov. Direct inquiries from students will be acceptable.

Ashley Ward, a senior Exercise Science major, is a Fulbright finalist for an English Teaching Assistantship in Spain. Fulbright Scholars are college graduates who travel abroad for a year to serve as ambassadors for their alma mater and the United States.  Congratulations and good luck to Ashley!

Senior Exercise Science majors, Sadie Nelson and Ashley Ward are teaching a Student Initiated Lifetime Activity Course (SILAC) focusing on intense plyometric exercise and health lessons. The students are also conducting research on the impact the course has on various fitness measures including body composition, cardiovascular endurance, and power. Six days a week, 30 students gather to engage in structured plyometric exercises while also exploring various health-related topics.  SILACs are a new initiative within the Department of Health and Exercise Science with the purpose  of providing students experience in developing and implementing academic courses while providing the campus community a broader range of highly engaging activity experiences.

On Tuesday, February 8th, 10 students and all five certified athletic trainers from the Truman Athletic Training Education Program travelled to Jefferson City, MO for Missouri Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Day at the Capitol. This year MOATA was advocating with legislators on two important issues: insurance reimbursement and head injury legislation. With a number of new legislators in office this year, the students made an important contribution to the promotion of the profession and had hands on experiences with the political advocacy associated with professional practice. Students had the opportunity to speak to their senators and representatives and educate them on who athletic trainers are, what they do, and the current bills under consideration that MOATA was supporting. Several students had the opportuity to be recognized by their local representatives and senators at the beginning of session that day.

Students who attended were: Brittany Whittaker, Mike Atkinson, Mike Chastain, Maureen Freeland, Cade Arnold, Courtney Meyer, Kourtney Bowyer, Liz Rodell, Henry Dodd, and Kelsey Lockyer.

Four HLTH 440 students (Kristen Siegler, Taylor Hockman, Jenna Osseck, and Anna Grinter) are working with the NEMO Heart Health sub-committee to create and publicize a campaign to promote automated external defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the community.  This two-pronged campaign exists: 1) for the general Kirksville community to understand the purpose of AEDs; and 2) for Kirksville employers to understand AEDs and to authorize sites where AEDs could be placed in businesses.  NEMO Heart Health wants to place 50 AEDs in Kirksville in 5 years.  The group is going to publicize this in February, heart health month, with a public relations event to continue to promote the implementation of AEDs.

There are numerous other projects taking place in the community with the help of Truman State Health Science students.  Examples of this come from the health science capstone class in which the following projects have been created.

The HLTH 195 Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) & Environmental Wellness project will work with Dr. Young and selected HLTH 195 instructors to create  PowerPoint lectures to be presented in the HLTH 195 classes.  The outline of the STI lecture will include definitions, types of infections, risk factors, transmission, signs and symptoms of each STI, how to protect oneself and partner(s), treatment, and possible complications.  The environmental wellness lesson will include the 4R’s + related information/stats, and how college students’ actions impact the environment.

The Drive Safe, Drive Smart (DSDS) campus intervention will include displays, educational activities, presentations,  and information tables about the Missouri DSDS campaign. This project will include planning, budgeting, preparation, review and implementation in cooperation with appropriate personnel in order to promote safe driving throughout Missouri.

The NEMO Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Public Health Careers Club Project will work with the NEMO AHEC executive director  to develop and pilot activities for Health Careers Clubs to educate high school students about and recruit them into public health careers.  Educational presentations and online sessions will be created and local public health speakers and career visits scheduled.

These are just a few examples of work from health science students.   These projects give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge to practical, real-world settings.

Four Truman State Health Science students will present at the
American Association for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance National Convention and Exhibition in San Diego, California on March 29, 2011.  Katharyn Emery,  Sarah Folks, Grace McGaughey and Brenda Goodwin will present their project “Grabbing Red Bull by the Horns.” Congratulations and good luck to these students!

In an effort to stimulate  fun, learning and some good old-fashion competition, the Athletic Training Education Program has started the AT Megathon! The teams consist of both advanced and newer students who must work together to compete in one to two challenges each week that tests their athletic training knowledge and/or skills in fun and interesting ways. Challenges are created and refereed by the athletic training faculty and consist of such things as: Anatomical Landmark Simon Says, Water Cooler Races, Name That Bone or Muscle, or ATwister. Points are awarded to each team based on their performance in each challenge. Last week saw the first inaugural challenge in which teams had to tape an ankle together, but each member could only use one hand. Current standings are as follows:

1. Team Ossicular Chain (Michael Atkinson, Liz Rodell, & Courtney Meyer)

2. Team Chordae Tendineae (Danielle Zee- Cheng, Cade Arnold, & Allen Ward)

3. Ober’s Blebs (Mo Freeland, Kourtney Bowyer, & Mike Pagan)

4. The Piezoelectric Effects (Kelsey Lockyer & Shannon Smith)

5. The Oversized Medulla Oblongatas (Bryan Beachem, Mike, Chastain, & Megan Purk)

6. We’ll Kick Your Gluteus Maximus (Brittany Whittaker, Kim Raymond, and Henry Dodd)

Lindsay Dodge recently accepted  a full-time position with the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) as a Tournament Coordinator.   She will be planning, administering, and directing AJGA junior golf events all over the country.  You can learn more about how to get involved with the AJGA at www.ajga.org.

Lindsay graduated from  Truman State University in May 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science and an emphasis in Sport Management with a Business Administration Minor.  She was a member of the Truman Women’s Golf Team, Phi Epsilon Kappa, and Alpha Sigma Alpha while at Truman.  After graduation from Truman, Lindsay attended Wichita State University to start earning her Master’s Degree in Sport Management.