Athletic Training Chat

If you are struggling with anything around suicide or know anyone that is, please use the Nation Suicide Hotline at 1.800.273.8255 Dr. Mark Cole gave the talk ‘Embracing the Awkward’ at the 2022 Wisconsin Athletic Trainers Association annual meeting and during it highlighted so many great points that we had to ask him to come on and talk about the idea and what it all means for athletic trainers. To start we talk about being prepared to have the conversation when something seems off and you think someone may harm themselves. This can be difficult in its own but it can be crucial for athletic trainers to use with their patient population. We also talk about what the role of the AT when it comes to mental health. There is a lot we can do as a profession but where does it end? Can we serve as counselors or do we need to have a point where we have to hand the person off to another professional. Dr. Cole has great ideas when it comes to establishing connections in the community and/or campus to help you establish