Athletic Training Case Scenarios: Domain-Based Situations and Solutions

Every case that athletic trainers respond to is unique, but by exposing themselves to a variety of scenarios, they can be prepared for almost any situation. Case studies are the easiest way to find this information, but oftentimes, they come in the form of informal anecdotes or only relate to very specific subjects. Athletic Training Case Scenarios: Domain-Based Situations and Solutions is designed to fill this gap by providing a large number of studies from all five of the domains of athletic training.

Keith M. Gorse, Francis Feld, and Robert O. Blanc have gathered true-to-life scenarios for each of the five domains of athletic training, resulting in expert advice on the best response to many possible scenarios. These scenarios were shared by the certified athletic trainers who originally responded to them coming from their work in industrial settings, high schools, colleges, professional teams, and sports medicine clinics.

Each scenario features the actual case as it was first assessed by the athletic trainer in order to give readers an opportunity to use their own judgment and decide the best course of action before the original athletic trainer’s own response and recommendations are given.

Organized by domain, readers will be able to easily find examples of any case they could imagine. Each domain (prevention, evaluation and diagnosis, emergency care, treatment and rehabilitation, and organizational and professional health) has over a dozen scenarios designed to encourage critical thinking. This format gives readers the closest thing to a crash-course by exposing them to a diverse array of cases and situations.

Athletic training students and clinicians will appreciate the wide range of cases presented in Athletic Training Case Scenarios: Domain-Based Situations and Solutions, providing them with the strong knowledge base they will need to respond to any situation they may experience themselves.

Keith M. Gorse, EdD, LAT, ATC is an assistant professor at the Rangos School of Health Sciences at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and also serves as the Clinical Coordinator for the Undergraduate Athletic Training Program.
Dr. Gorse received his bachelor of arts degree in Secondary Education and Athletic Training from the University of Pittsburgh (1983), and his master of education degree also from the University of Pittsburgh (1988). He spent 2 years working at Hempfield Area High School in Greensburg, PA and 15 years at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. While working at Duquesne University, Dr. Gorse received his doctoral degree in Education (2010).
Dr. Gorse has been teaching in the Athletic Training Program since 2001. His areas of instruction have included sophomore-level introduction to athletic training, athletic injury evaluation, emergency care, applied science, and administrative issues in health care. In that time, Dr. Gorse has also been Clinical Coordinator for all sophomore-, junior-, and senior-level students. The Athletic Training Program uses over 30 different clinical education sites (on and off campus) and 65 different clinical education preceptors.
Dr. Gorse’s research interests include commotio cordis, youth sports injuries, and emergency care issues. He has published 7 peer-reviewed manuscripts and contributed to over 14 professional presentations in his areas of research expertise. Additionally, Dr. Gorse has co-authored one academic text book in athletic training and is currently co-authoring another athletic training text book that will be published in 2015.
Dr. Gorse is a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association, the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers’ Society (PATS), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American Red Cross. Professionally, Dr. Gorse spent 5 years (2006-2010) serving as a member of the programming committee for the NATA Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium, and 6 years (1998-2004) as the District II Rep for the NATA College/University Committee. He was chair of the NATA Age Specific Task Force for 3 years (2003-2005). He routinely serves as a moderator and/or program reviewer for the NATA Annual Meeting. He currently is a member of the NATA Sponsor Review Committee and acts as the Alleghany County Rep to PATS. Dr. Gorse has been an instructor in CPR, AED, and First Aid for both the AHA and American Red Cross for the past 25 years. He teaches and certifies students, coaches, and teachers both on campus and off campus at local schools and youth sport associations.
Dr. Gorse is a licensed athletic trainer through the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine. He has over 30 years of clinical experience, working at both the high school and college levels. At Hempfield High School, Dr. Gorse served as their first full time athletic trainer. During his time at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Gorse was the head athletic trainer for over 17 men’s and women’s varsity sports and also taught in the Physical Education department. Currently, Dr. Gorse does some outside clinical work with Shady Side Academy Middle and High School in Pittsburgh, working with various varsity sports, including the baseball and ice hockey programs. Dr. Gorse has also been a coach/manager for various youth baseball programs in the Shaler and Fox Chapel school districts, also in Pittsburgh, for the past 14 years.

Francis Feld, MS, MEd, CRNA, LAT, ATC, NRP is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at UPMC Passavant Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, where he specializes in thoracic anesthesia. Prior to working at Passavant, he spent 16 years at UPMC Mercy Hospital, which is a Level One Trauma and Burn Center where he specialized in cardiac and trauma anesthesia. Mr. Feld is active in the prehospital arena as a paramedic for Ross West View EMS in Pittsburgh and Penn State University EMS in University Park, PA where he works home football games. A portion of his duties with Ross West View EMS is covering 2 local high school football teams as a paramedic. He is Medical Group Supervisor for the Allegheny County Hazardous Materials Medical Response Team and is a supervisory nurse specialist for the Federal PA-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team. Mr. Feld was deployed for Hurricanes Gustav, Lee, and Sandy; the Haiti Earthquake; and several National Security events. He has completed terrorism training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, AL where the training included work with live nerve and biological agents.
Prior to entering the EMS and nursing fields, Mr. Feld worked as a certified athletic trainer at Center High School in Beaver County (now Central Valley), the University of Pittsburgh, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has worked the summer games of the Special Olympics for 18 years at Penn State as a volunteer athletic trainer and as a paramedic. He is the Co-Editor of the textbooks Emergency Care in Athletic Training and Athletic Training Case Scenarios: Domain-Based Situations and Solutions. Mr. Feld has been a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) since 1973 and a certified member since 1976. He serves as a core member of the writing group that has prepared the NATA’s position statement on the appropriate prehospital care of spinal injuries. He has lectured at the local, regional, state, and national levels on emergency care, cardiac care, spine and orthopedic injuries, emergency planning, and disaster response.
Mr. Feld holds a BA in history and a MEd in sports administration from the University of Pittsburgh, a BSN from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and a MS in nursing anesthesia from LaRoche College in Pittsburgh. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Carlow University in Pittsburgh and is Regional Faculty for the American Heart Association in ACLS, PALS, and BLS.

Robert O. Blanc, MS, LAT, ATC, EMT-P enters his 28th year as head football athletic trainer and clinical instructor at the University of Pittsburgh in PA. With his exceptional sports medicine knowledge and experience, Blanc is a tremendous resource for the entire University of Pittsburgh athletic department.
Blanc was named the 2013 NCAA Division I Head Athletic Trainer of the Year by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). He was selected for this prestigious award by the NATA College and University Athletic Trainers’ Committee, which annually recognizes individuals for exceptional performance as a head athletic trainer in each of the 5 collegiate divisions (Divisions I, II, and III; NAIA; and junior college).
In addition to his responsibilities with the Pittsburgh Panthers’ football program, Blanc has a lead role with the University of Pittsburgh Performance Team, a unique blending of the university’s numerous resources that focuses on the development and welfare of the total student-athlete. He also helps coordinate sports coverage, budget, inventory, drug testing, and counseling.
Blanc is an adjunct clinical instructor for the University of Pittsburgh’s NATA-approved undergraduate athletic training curriculum. He has co-authored 2 textbooks, Emergency Care in Athletic Training and Athletic Training Case Scenarios: Domain-Based Situations and Solutions, with 3 graduates of the University of Pittsburgh athletic training program.
Blanc graduated from Slippery Rock University in PA in 1982 and earned his master’s in athletic training in 1984 from Ohio University in Athens. He was also a certified paramedic and was involved in an emergency medical service for 17 years in nearby Bethel Park.
A native of Pittsburgh, Blanc served as head athletic trainer at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh for 2 years before joining the Panthers’ staff. Blanc began his athletic training career as the head athletic trainer at New Lexington (Ohio) High School in 1983. One year later, he began working for the Pittsburgh Steelers on a part-time basis, serving at the training camp and at all home games.