CHCS - Perspectives Winter/Spring 2016

24 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY T he CHCS Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) and the NSU Department of Athletics are a natural fit. At the heart of both entities are the desires to enhance athletic performance and reduce the risk of injury. Before classes even begin for HHP students and faculty members in the fall, many are getting a leg up on clinical and research opportuni- ties by working alongside NSU’s athletic training staff members to screen more than 350 student-athletes during the pre-participation examinations. Pradeep Vanguri, Ph.D., ATC, and Jeffrey Doeringer, Ph.D., ATC, from the HHP’s Athletic Training Educa- tion Program (ATEP), assist with tasks such as orthope- dic screening, blood pressure measurement, and vision screening. According to Zoe Greim, an ATEP level II student, “Taking the opportunities to fully immerse myself in the high level of athletic training culture here at NSU has benefited my professional preparation exponentially,” she said. “The vast exposure and hands-on experience with different testing and screen- ing tools, modalities, treatments, and an interprofes- sional team is like no other and has enabled me to feel very confident in my progression into the athletic training profession.” The HHP’s Exercise and Sport Science (EXSC) students, along with program director Monique Mokha, Ph.D., ATC, CSCS, primarily assist with screening movement patterns using the Functional Movement Screen TM (FMS) and compiling data for research purposes. FMS monitoring continues throughout the athletes’ competi- tive seasons, presenting more opportunities for clinical experiences and research. Additionally, Mokha is a member of NSU’s Sports Medicine Interdisciplinary Team (SMIT), where her role is to support the SMIT through data collection and producing research in injury prevention. Mokha and her students, along with Peter Sprague, D.P.T., OCS, in the Department of Physical Therapy, and Dustin Gatens, M.S., ATC, in the Department of Athletics, have published four peer-reviewed manu- scripts in the past 15 months. “The role of the EXSC and ATEP programs in the health care that is delivered by our staff members cannot be overstated,” said Gatens, who is a strong proponent of the HHP’s collaboration with the Department of Athletics. For the past several years, Mokha and her students have been instrumental in both the collection and utilization of data on NSU’s student-athletes. Starting with preseason physicals every August, exercise and sport science faculty members and students work hand in hand with NSU’s athletic training staff members to handle the logistics of collecting valuable data that help shape injury prevention and health maintenance strategies for NSU’s student-athletes. Collaboration With NSU Athletics Proves Beneficial for HHP Health and Human Performance FORT LAUDERDALE