Health and Human Services News

Educating through experience

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When the weather gets colder and the leaves change colors, it can only mean one thing: fall sports have arrived.  

While watching sports in the Springfield community, you may be able to spot MSU athletic training (AT) students getting hands-on clinical experience. 

In addition to their instructional course work, students must complete certain clinical experiences to become nationally certified athletic trainers. 

“We currently have students going to high school and college clinics, as well as other experiences, depending on their professional interests,” said Dr. Tona Hetzler, head of the athletic training department.  

Other clinical experiences include tactical athletic training, performing arts training, doctors’ offices and rehab clinics. 

“These different clinics allow our students to gain experience in different aspects of athletic training that they may not know exist,” said Dr. Allan Liggett clinical associate professor athletic training. 

Types of clinical experience 

MSU offers  AT students two types of clinical experiences: immersive and integrated. 

The immersive clinical experience requires students to spend three periods of eight weeks fully immersed in a clinical setting. Students spend the entire workday getting hands-on training.  

The integrated clinical experience is for students who attend classes in the morning,  then work in a clinical setting in the afternoon.  

The amount of time MSU students spend in clinical settings allows them to stand out from other universities’ AT programs.  

“Our students are averaging 15 hours a week of clinical training over six semesters,” Hetzler said. “Our students are graduating with well over 1,500 hours of experience.” 

This program offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Springfield community and embrace MSU’s mission of community engagement.  

Learn more about MSU Athletic Training

Student on the Street: Ryan Moon

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Ryan Moon is a junior cell and molecular biology student at Missouri State University. Moon is from Springfield, Missouri, and attended Glendale High School.

His favorite course has been fundamentals of physiology.

“We got the opportunity to learn more about how the human body functions at the molecular level,” Moon said.

“I was able to build on the knowledge of structures that I previously learned in anatomy and build on how different cells interact with one another.”

For Moon, the best part of being a Bear is the close-knit community.

“I have met many friends and mentors through joining different organizations who have supported me throughout college,” he said.

After graduation, Moon plans to attend graduate school.

A new place to play

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Have you noticed a new workout area behind McDonald Arena?

The workout station, called THRIVE, was commissioned by the kinesiology department at Missouri State University, in collaboration with GameTime. It will be used for research with GameTime and for Missouri State students. 

MSU is one of three universities across the country using this kind of equipment for research in partnership with GameTime.  

THRIVE is also open for public use.  

The station includes a QR code to scan for free workouts. 

Explore training with THRIVE

Partnerships built to improve quality of life

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MSU Care is a free and charitable clinic that serves an underserved, unisured population within the community.

Jaime Gnau, clinical dietician at MSU Care and also clinical instructor of MSU’s dietetics program, talks about her role at the clinic.

“A lot of my work focuses around diabetes, weight management and developing a healthy relationship with food,” Gnau said.

The clinic is a partnership with Mercy, with employees from both institutions working side by side.

Gnau shares about the challenges patients are facing and how she helps them.

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“Our patients have a lot of barriers. So as you can imagine, they’re fighting fires every day. They deal with challenges of just meeting their basic needs,” Gnau said.

Improving health care access

“As a dietician, it’s really about helping them set achievable goals,” she said. “When you’re not able to pay your electric bill, or you’re not even able to have a house to access, a stove to cook on, to be able to store refrigerated foods – we really are focusing in on what is within your control. Let’s see how we can develop some some small achievable goals that you feel confident you can reach.”

Changing services during COVID

Gnau served on a task force to strategize about the necessary adaptations for services during COVID. Instead of feeling defeated, she is excited to share about some of the new partnerships – primarily one for food boxes.

“If you don’t have a consistent food source while you’re on insulin, it can be very dangerous,” she said.

When she reached out to Ozarks Food Harvest and explained the needs and types of food that would be best, she was in awe.

“They just absolutely came through. We’ve served 30,427 pounds of food since the program began,” she said, and the partnership continues.

For more information, visit msucare.missouristate.edu.

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