On Tuesday, April 1st, 12 WHS Athletic Training class students visited Central Michigan University to tour the Athletic Facilities. On this trip, students got to see the technology the health studies students use in simulations to practice things such as CPR, putting in an IV, intubation, checking pulses, and much more. The life-like dolls used to practice these things can blink, have a heartbeat that can be changed using a computer, they can have a seizure, turn blue, and have a pulse in all the same places that an actual human does.
The WHS students also got a chance to see a lab room that CMU students use for their classes to get hands-on experience before they graduate. The lab students got to visit is actively used by CMU master’s program students, mainly. It holds all of the new technology that current athletic trainers and physical therapists get to use on their patients. Some of this technology includes ultrasound and electric stimulation machines, a Game Ready machine, a Diathermy machine, and much more.
Other places they visited on campus included the health science residence hall. This dorm building makes it easier to find a roommate with similar interests because you guys will be taking similar classes. Inside this building, students saw a showroom that showed them an example of how the dorm could be set up if they chose that college.
Each dorm building also has a gym and cafeteria-type space for students to enjoy meals. The dorms have different food options students can choose from, and all students have access to all of these cafes if they would like something different than what is being offered in their building. The one the WHS class visited is focused on more protein-based foods, seeing as it is for student athletes.
They also saw the Student Activity Center, which held a swimming pool, ping pong tables, a basketball court, workout rooms, and much more. This is a place where students can go to get in their workout for the day, as well as members of the community. Because the community doesn’t have a YMCA or something similar like we do here, many people who live near the school use the Activity Center as their recreation center.
The class also made a stop in the campus library, which is home to two museums with artifacts from Michigan’s history. CMU is located near the traditional land of the Saginaw Chippewa Native American Tribe. Since the campus is so close to their homeland, the tribe holds many events on the campus grounds. This is a way for the community to show their respect, especially because Central’s mascot is the Chippewas, paying homage to the community that was once on those grounds.
This was a great experience for the senior class because it gave them a chance to see what it would be like as an athletic training major and allowed them to ask any questions they may have for a professional at the campus.
