UCLA Sports Medicine Internship Program helps student find her calling

Stephanie Chou said she knew she wanted to choose a profession where she could help people. But until a specific T-shirt caught her eye on the way back from class, she was unsure what that profession would be.

The T-shirt read “UCLA Sports Medicine.”

Chou headed back to her dorm and entered the phrase into Google, where she found out about the Sports Medicine Internship Program, a three-year process starting in a student’s second year, in which UCLA undergraduate students assist certified athletic trainers as they work with student-athletes.

“I was kind of stuck for a while, knowing that I wanted to do something that combined science and helping people, but also not pre-med,” said Chou, a second-year psychobiology student. “I also knew from growing up that I really loved athletics, the environment, the community of it. So the Sports Medicine Internship Program kind of combined everything.”

Chou said she never sustained any major injuries, but after participating in gymnastics as a kid, she had seen her fair share of gruesome ones.

“One of my friends did a flip on a trampoline but didn’t land on the trampoline,” Chou said. “Well, (her) body landed on the trampoline but (her) head hit the floor and there was blood immediately.”

Chou said she does not remember her friend’s diagnosis, but she does remember the day her friend returned to the sport and began competing at the same level she had before, which Chou said showed her the value of sports medicine.

After reading about the opportunity online, Chou submitted an application at the end of her first year and was one of around 80 students accepted into the first step of the program – the observation period.

Senior athletic trainer Tandi Hawkey, who supervises first-year interns, said 60 to 80 prospective interns are in the program at the beginning of any given year.

During fall and winter quarter, these students spend six to 10 hours a week in a training room of the Acosta Athletic Training Complex, picking up basic athletic training skills by observing the certified trainers and then applying what they learn.

“One of the unique things about our program is that it is very hands-on,” Hawkey said. “There are hour requirements for physical therapy (licenses) … and students who don’t go through our program, when they’re doing those hours, they pretty much just stand and watch.”

But in the UCLA program, interns can use the techniques and treatments they learn on student-athletes as soon as they pass competency tests supervised by athletic trainers. The interns also complete written assignments to demonstrate what they have learned.

During the first two quarters, Chou said many interns drop out because of the time commitment or the difficulty of the assignments and tests. The ones who remain go through an interview process at the end of winter quarter before the athletic training staff chooses which interns will be initiated fully into the program to work with specific teams the next two years.

Hawkey said the three main traits she looks for in selecting which interns will be retained are awareness, proactivity and social confidence.

“In the athletic training room, there is a lot going on. So our students need to be very aware about tasks that need to be accomplished, how they can be productive,” Hawkey said. “We need student interns who are proactive and will take on tasks and responsibilities without having to be told and without having to have it explained each time. … And they have to have good, confident social skills in order to interact with the athletes.”

The chosen interns then spend 10 to 15 hours a week during spring quarter shadowing trainers and older interns in various sports to see which ones they want to work with the next year.

Although Chou eventually chose to work with the swim and dive team next year, she said her most memorable experience from the program came at a gymnastics meet when a visiting gymnast ruptured her Achilles tendon.

This time, rather than watch from the sideline, Chou was able to help the athletic trainer deal with the injury. She fetched a boot that would help the gymnast keep her foot in a pointed position, termed “plantar flexion,” in order to reduce the separation between the snapped tendon and the muscles.

“What’s interesting about this program is our coolest experiences are sometimes the not-so-great experiences for the athletes,” Chou said.

With each of these experiences, Chou said she becomes more used to dealing with shocking injuries.

“I think one of the hardest things about (sports medicine) is you have to maintain your cool,” Chou said. “You have to stay calm because if that athlete sees you panicking, that’s going to make them panic even more because they know that you know how bad the injury is.”

It’s that emotional interaction with the athletes that Chou said is so appealing about sports medicine.

“They’ve been working so hard to reach this point, and if they have an injury, it doesn’t matter how minor it may seem, it is a setback for them,” Chou said. “It definitely affects you. You feel their frustration, you feel their sadness. … Because you see that, because you feel it, it’s so rewarding that you can be there to help them, that you can do something about it.”

Carl Stocklin, an athletic trainer who supervises interns in baseball and men’s water polo, also said personal interaction is one of the best aspects of the job.

“You’re seeing the athletes every day. That’s what draws people into the profession,” Stocklin said. “In a more traditional physical therapy clinic, you may see a patient maybe a few times a month. Athletic training is unique because you’re seeing an athlete on a day-to-day basis.”

Chou said that day-to-day basis does not make the job monotonous because she loves it so much. Just over a year ago, she had no idea what career path to take. Now, with her sights set on physical therapy school after graduation, she said she knows exactly what she wants to do.

“For some people, to say ‘Oh, this is what I’m doing the rest of my life,’ that can be a little overwhelming,” Chou said. “But I think that’s almost good to have this opportunity to see I can come in every day and still want to come in the day after.”