Theatre and Dance Continues Partnering with Athletic Training on Concussion Simulations

Mar 7, 2022 12:00 AM

A partnership between the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Athletic Training program, now in its third year, has provided students with experience acting in simulations.

The THEA 335 course was originally developed in partnership with the Nursing Department back in 2018 to provide student actors with simulation experience as nursing patients. The partnership has since been expanded, with Theatre majors acting as part of hands-on, baseline cardiovascular exams taken by Athletic Training students. As part of a second midterm examination this spring, Theatre students spent three weeks developing a character who plays soccer and incurs a specified injury that the Athletic Training majors must determine how to best treat. Last year’s involved a spleen injury, and this year was a concussion.

Jackie Durst, Athletic Program Director, praised the value of this type of experience for her students, stating, “These objectively structured clinical examinations provide critical learning opportunities for the Athletic Training students to practice their skills in a safe and controlled environment. Theatre and Dance students prepared extensively for their part in portraying the key physical and mental symptoms of a concussed patient. These simulated patient experiences allowed for students to collaborate and support each other's learning in a unique and important way. “