While in the program, I have found it hard to get athletes sometimes to trust in what I say. Other times it took no effort at all for an athlete to trust me. This was usually because they already knew me before any kind of treatments or evaluation. For the athletes I never got to meet beforehand, I found it difficult for them to trust in my advice. Trust is very essential for the relationship between Athletic Trainer and athlete. Without trust, an athlete will always be skeptical of any intervention, diagnoses, or advice from the Athletic Trainer. I have seen this first hand during my early years in the program. I do not blame upperclassmen for not listening to me when I was a sophomore because I was not confident in the information I had at the time. Confidence and the detail for what I was doing at the time were not there, so naturally people probably thought I did not know what I was talking about. This is why I do not blame them for not listening to me. I would not want to listen to a physician who was not confident in his decisions. As the months went on, I started grow my weaknesses and began to build trust with some athletes. I took time to reflect on those relationships to better understand how I got their trust. Majority of it was just explaining what and why I was doing, with a smidge of confidence. As more athletes began to seek out my advice, I noticed myself not worrying about what I knew but instead what I could for them. Trust can be built through many different ways, but I focus on the patient and what their needs are. I try to be a friend to them first so they can feel comfortable telling me their issues. I am not trying to show them I know what I am talking about because they expect me to know more about what is going on with them, in most cases. Once I have some kind of positive relationship, I use honesty to tell them what I see and what I can do. I know that sometimes the truth hurts, but if it can ultimately help someone then it must be utilized. That is why trust is such an important tool Athletic Trainers should use. We are here to take care of people when they are need, so must show care and compassion for them to let us help.
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April 2019
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