What I Learned During My OTC Rotation

I got back a week ago from my two week rotation with the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, CO. I am finally slowing down and almost caught up from being gone.

While at the OTC I completed 141 athlete sessions, 6 nights of emergency on-call with an athletic trainer, assisted 3 medical procedures, and provided support for USA Wrestling. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time my plane landed in Milwaukee last Sunday. 

During the hustle and bustle of everything, there are a few things I observed and learned:

• Everyone on the medical team is a jack of all trades and a master of a few. As someone who has worked with professional athletes and been a medical team member, the roles are very defined. The chiropractors adjust, the physical therapists do mobility and wound/injury care, the trainers and manual therapists do manual therapy...at the OTC, we all did everything. It was not uncommon seeing the chiropractor doing soft tissue work for 30 minutes or an athletic training doing joint manipulations. I used to think that my exploration into modalities made me look scattered but with the Olympic Sports Medicine Department all that training made me valuable. My training allowed me the privilege to work with the Paralympians, it allowed me to work with athletes with concussion injuries...ALL of my education and experience was considered an asset. 
• There is no one more important than our athletes. I found myself filling sanitizer and folding laundry alongside staff doctors and trainers. While titles existed as a reference, they did not dictate a hierarchy. 
• Athletes are 'normal'. I honestly didn't know what I was expecting but, at first, I was intimidated to have a gold or silver medalist on my table. What I quickly discovered is these men and women are kind, humble, driven, and thankful. We laughed and talked about their favorite coffee places, they heard all about my life in Wisconsin, they asked for ways they could stretch more effectively. Don't get me wrong, they are exceptional but they don't try to convince people they are exceptional, their life, their work, their determination show how exceptional they are. 

I want to thank you for your support and encouragement this past month, it was a blessing being a member of an extraordinary team of medical professionals. Moving forward, I have been recommended to work with USA Wrestling. I will have more information by December and promise to keep everyone up to date as the process continues.  

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