Thanking Our Very Own Athletic Trainers for National Athletic Training Month
March is National Athletic Training Month, and we’re proud to have several current and former Certified Athletic Trainers (ATCs) on the Arthrex team.
While working at Arthrex isn’t a typical setting for an athletic trainer, the educational background that athletic trainers bring to the table has proven to be extremely helpful.
Thank you to the Arthrex team members who are past or present certified athletic trainers:
Frank Grimaldi, PA - Senior Clinical Specialist (current ATC)
Aaron Hewitt, PA-C - Lab and Exhibit Services Manager (former ATC)
Bethlyn Katz, PA-C - Clinical Specialist (former ATC)
Tim Thompson, PA-C – Clinical Medical Education Manager (former ATC)
Kevin Gallen - Group Product Manager, Shoulder Arthroplasty Team (former ATC)
Drew Osika - Product Manager, Knee & Hip Team (former ATC)
Mike Fisher, PA-C - Clinical Specialist (former ATC)
Ryan Brick, RN - Technology Specialist (former ATC)
Kristen Eichstaedt - Technology Consultant Specialist (current ATC)
We talked to Technology Consultant Specialist Kristen Eichstaedt, ATC, to find out how being an athletic trainer helps her be an effective part of the Medical Education team. Here’s what she said:
What made you want to become an athletic trainer (AT)?
Having been an athlete in high school, I saw everything our athletic trainer was responsible for. When I was a high school senior, I took an Introduction to Athletic Training class where I got to shadow the school’s AT and see firsthand how he helped students, athletes and coaches every day. After that, I knew it was for me.
What made you decide to apply at Arthrex?
I used to work at an outpatient orthopedic clinic in Minnesota and worked closely with surgeons, physician assistants and non-operative sports medicine physicians. When I moved to Florida, the agency representative and a few of the surgeons I worked with recommended I look into Arthrex. It’s not a common setting for an athletic trainer, but I thought with my clinical knowledge there could be something at Arthrex for me. Once I found out more about the company’s emphasis on medical education, I knew it would be a great fit. Everyone here is working to help surgeons treat their patients better and I was already doing that as an athletic trainer by working with athletes at outreach schools and patients in the clinic, even if I wasn’t in the operating room working directly with the surgeon.
How do you apply your knowledge from being an ATC to your current role?
As part of the Medical Education team, I help with the training of our agency representatives. This involves creating an online curriculum and tests, organizing and teaching onsite trainings, setting up agency representative trainings and communicating with the Medical Education Managers and surgeon instructors. My clinical experience is helpful with every aspect of my day.
What’s your favorite part of being an ATC?
My favorite thing about being an athletic trainer is being able to help people. I have been able to work as an athletic trainer in multiple settings and one thing that’s always the same is that we do everything we can to help our patients and athletes. I continue to support local events as an athletic trainer because I enjoy watching athletes play the game they love and being able to be their first point of contact in case of an emergency or injury.
What’s your favorite part of being a Technology Consultant Specialist at Arthrex?
I love being able to share the knowledge that I have accumulated as an athletic trainer while working alongside the amazing Medical Education department here at Arthrex to help train agency representatives from all over the country.
What’s something people may not know about ATCs?
Athletic trainers aren’t just at high schools and colleges anymore. You can find us in physicians’ offices, physical therapy clinics, as health care administrators, in the operating room alongside surgeons and physician assistants, law enforcement, the military and, of course, at medical device companies. Most importantly, athletic trainers do everything they can to make their patients/athletes better after an injury.
