PDFE #4

For this PDFE, I interviewed Ginger Swann on October 4, 2010 in the Cage Athletic Training Room at 2:30PM. Ginger is the Head Athletic Trainer at Berry College.

Question: How long have you been a trainer?
Answer: I have been a trainer for fifteen years.

  

Question: Did you ever consider any other career besides Athletic Training?
Answer: Yes, I wanted to do Pharmacy, but then I decided that was not what I had a passion for, so I decided to do Psychology and Physical Education.

Question: How did you become interested in Athletic Training?
Answer: I became interested in Athletic Training when I got hurt playing Tennis here at Berry. I rolled my ankle and went into the training room. When I went into the training room everything came together. I knew I wanted to work close with people; I get a lot of satisfaction working with people. I love learning about the body and how it moves and what happens when the body is injured. I find the body and how it works very interesting. I knew once everything came together that I wanted to become an Athletic Trainer.

 Question: Where did you do your undergraduate studies and what was your major in?
Answer:  I did my undergraduate studies at Berry College and I had a double major in Sports Training and Physical Education with a minor in Psychology.

Question: Where did you do your graduate studies and what did you specialize in?

Answer: I went to Georgia State University and specialized in Sports Medicine.

Question: What is your favorite thing/ what is most rewarding to you about working as an Athletic Trainer?
Answer:  I would have to say building relationships with my coworkers and the athletes. I do enjoy specifically athletes. I like going from start to finish with an athlete’s injury. I feel like my skills are fine, they are average, but I feel like what sets me apart more is the emotional aspect with dealing with it like losing your identity and how do you deal with it all.

Question: What is your least favorite thing about working as an Athletic Trainer?
Answer: Energy, I find myself running out of energy a lot of the time and do not feel like I have enough to give. I feel like that affects the quality of my job that I can do. And I do not like when the athletes or student workers graduate; I hold that against them for a while. I don’t like the fact of everyone coming and going.

Question: What is the hardest part about the job?
Answer: People coming and going is the hardest part of my job. I build such a close relationship with the athletes and student workers it is hard to see them leave.

  

Question: what has been your most intense moment in your career?
Answer: One day I had a guy that had a seizure and spinal injury all at once and he was a big guy and I am not a big girl, so it was kind of tough securing his spine while he was having a seizure.

Question: Do you plan on staying at Berry College as the Head Athletic Trainer til you retire, if not what is your career goal?
Answer:  No, I have no plans; I do not make plans anymore. It would be great if I could stay, but I am not planning on it, we will see what happens. If I do not stay here then I would like to go to Physical Therapy school to become a Physical Therapist. Actually I take that back, I would like to get married, have children and have a family.

Question: What advice do you have for an undergraduate going into the sports medicine field of work?
Answer: I think longevity for this career, because I think its burnout rate is pretty high. You just got to figure out what your passion is about it and let that define the happiness of your job.