National Athletic Training Month - Physician Support in the Clinic

Over the years, the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute has taken steps to integrate Certified Athletic Trainers into our daily, private physician practice. If you look at the evolution of the job settings for athletic trainers, you will see that Rothman utilizes athletic trainers in both the traditional and the non-traditional settings. We utilize the athletic trainer’s distinctive skill sets as physician extenders and orthotic technicians in the clinic, and we also provide field athletic trainers to several school districts throughout the region.

For this post, we will explore the role of athletic trainers in the clinic, where trainers are commonly referred to as Physician Extenders.

“I strongly believe that optimal care for the athlete now requires a team approach including physicians (both orthopaedic and medical), athletic trainers, therapists, strength and conditioning specialists, and nutritionists among others.” Dr. Michael Ciccotti

Dr. Ciccotti's Physician Entender, Leanne McKeown, ATC-L, ST-C, knows what it's like to be a part of this team. Leanne works in Rothman's clinical setting, seeing patients with the physician. Some of her roles include taking the patient's medical history, examining the patient and providing both pre-op and post-op rehabilitation plans. In addition to her clinical roles, Leanne gets to scrub into the operating room as a Surgical Technologist. 

 “Having an athletic trainer as a physician extender allows me to walk into a patient’s room with a game plan and spend more time discussing the injury and potential treatment options” Dr. Peter DeLuca

Tracy Rookstool, ATC and Physician Extender for Dr. Peter DeLuca, has position very similar to Leanne’s, but also assists with patient paperwork, discharge instructions and is able to speak to the patients' families aboutsurgical procedure. In the office, Tracy will assist with post-op care such as removing stitches and removing exercises.