Olivia Spuler presenting at the recent NATA Symposium held in Texas
Mekaela Byker stands with Dr. Kelly Lumpkin and her poster before delivering her presentation
Emily Skipper with her original research poster
Dr. Kelly Lumpkin, director of Lee University’s athletic training program, and three recent AT graduates delivered presentations at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association symposium.
NATA is the professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and others who support the AT vocation. Its mission is to represent, engage, and foster the continued growth and development of the AT world and athletic trainers as unique health care providers. This international conference is the largest meeting in the profession, according to Lumpkin.
AT students and professionals gathered from all over in Houston, Texas, to enjoy hundreds of educational sessions, visit the largest exhibit of AT products in the world, and meet with over 350 AT companies for samples, demos, and hands-on experience.
Mekaela Byker, Emily Skipper, and Olivia Spuler, who are May 2017 graduates of Lee’s AT undergraduate program, gave presentations at the conference. To be invited to present, they submitted 600-word essays detailing original case studies they conducted.
“The NATA conference had such a fun atmosphere and allowed me to be surrounded by so many athletic trainers and attend seminars that helped prepare me for my first job,” said Skipper. “Being able to present my case study was a highlight to the start of my professional career as an athletic trainer.”
Ms. Skipper and Ms. Byker delivered poster presentations in a session titled “Injuries of the Upper Extremity Complex” based on the case study abstracts they submitted to the conference. Ms. Skipper’s presentation was developed from her case study on a latissimus dorsi tear with surgical repair in a professional baseball pitcher. Ms. Byker’s poster detailed her study of an ulnar collateral ligament sprain with associated radial head fracture in a collegiate softball player.
Ms. Spuler delivered a five-minute oral presentation in a session titled “Case Studies of the Head, Neck and Spine,” which she formed from her study on retrolisthesis of the lumbar spine in a female multisport high school athlete.
Dr. Lumpkin also gave a poster presentation and 60-minute lecture discussing her original research study on pain reduction and increased function in patients with low back pain after being treated with a low level laser. This study was a type of scientific experiment, which aimed to reduce bias when testing a new treatment.
All presentations are featured in the NATA publication, Journal of Athletic Training.
“I am so proud of our students who have worked above and beyond what was expected in the classroom,” said Dr. Lumpkin. “This conference was a good representation of what is to come of the new athletic training graduate program.”
As certified athletic trainers, the graduates have accepted positions including employment in the AT workforce and pursuit of graduate education through assistantship.
For more information about the conference, visit https://www.nata.org/about .
For more information about Lee’s Athletic Training Program, contact Dr. Lumpkin at 614-8474 or klumpkin@leeuniversity.edu.