Phillip Martin

English 2010 Summer 2014

Individual Portfolio

Table of Contents
Self-Reflective Letter ................................................................................................................ 2
Profile Genetic Testing .......................................................................................................... 3
Evaluation - Wikipedia .............................................................................................................. 9
Research Genetic Testing ................................................................................................... 14
Peer Review ............................................................................................................................. 22


Self-Reflective Letter

For my final pieces I wanted to showcase in this class I chose my Profile, my
Evaluation and my Research papers. This was a fairly easy decision for me as each of
these show case my work in a different way. My profile was my first entry into the class,
and while I believe I did a good job on the paper I believe I had room for improvement
but it definitely taught me ways in to research a topic and create my own profile of in this
case, a person. The profile was the area in which I had the most feedback and felt the
most changes were needed.
For my evaluation paper, I wanted to show my endeavors into researching into a
different topic than my genetics based themes of most of my other writing I did for this
class. My evaluation was probably my favorite assignment I had in this class. I enjoyed
researching a subject and thoroughly evaluating it on my own terms, by this I mean I
personally was able to evaluate the subject rather than only showing research on the
subject. I really had to focus on the genre of the paper to avoid making it feel like too
much of a research based paper.
I originally wanted to use my annotated bibliography to detail my process of
researching through data bases for a larger project. I however thought it was better to
use the actual research paper to show my experience of how I was able to research and
use the topics in my own writing as this showed a broader indication of my growth in
writing.
I found this class to be immensely helpful. I have created new ideas of how to
properly research topics and how to better utilize the information I have found. The area
of the class that I think taught me the most was peer reviewing. Not necessarily always
relying on what classmates thought of my work, but I realized how helpful it can be to
read and analyze another peers interpretation of a subject. By doing this I found I could
sometimes be able to utilize other peoples writing structure to further my own. I enjoyed
this class and I hope I will be able to use what I have learned throughout the rest of my
life.


Genetic Testing

Utilizing web video sources, namely YouTube, is a great way to give and find
information in this current age of technology. I viewed a video from a lady named Jodi
who publically spoke through means of social media at length about her cancer genetic
testing experience. In my opinion, this was amazing brave of her to bring this
information to the public. But before concentrating on her story, I wanted to bring up
some of the statistics of what genetic testing means to the public at large so a better
understanding of Jodis circumstance can be understood.
Risk
According to www.cancer.org, 232,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer will
be diagnosed in 2014, and in the same year about 40,000 women will die from the
disease. Roughly 1-12 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and 3% of the
total female population will die from breast cancer. Ovarian cancer risks are also
affected by these genes (BRCA 1 and 2), giving about a 44% higher cancer risk chance
compared to the normal population. Males might think these tests arent important to
them, but BRCA mutations also increase risk of male breast cancer, and an affected
male has a 50% chance to pass his genes on to future generations. About 5-10% of all
diagnosed breast and ovarian cancers are thought to be hereditary. The two most
common genes that can have defects, BRCA 1 and 2 can increase lifetime cancer risk
by up to 80%. These cancers are often also more aggressive and are known to affect
patients at younger ages than the average person. (Cancer.org)
Genetic testing is still largely underperformed and misunderstood. Many patients,
even those not looking for hereditary cancer testing, are unaware there may be testing
available that can help diagnose a higher risk of disease. By utilizing a patients known
family history medical professionals are often able to determine if a patient has risk
factors for certain genetic conditions and can recommend them to have further testing.
When healthy patients first hear phrases thrown out like high cancer risks due to family
lineage and death rates to cancer, it can be very overwhelming. There are places to turn
for support and information, and one of these I want to talk about is people who are
termed previvors.
Previvor
The term previvor is a term used for someone who has genetic risks for cancer
but has taken precautions to pre-emptively reduce their higher risk of future cancer.
Sometimes these precautions can be as simple as having more cancer screenings
performed, such as increased mammograms. Some measures can also be as extreme
as pre-emptive surgery to stop any chance of cancer infecting high risks organs. There
are many blogs and videos that are available, even some publically so. These can
usually be found on social media sites like YouTube or a doctor may be able to direct a
patient to further information. As listed in my introduction, a previvor by the name of
Jodi has posted a video of her experience with genetic testing, and having a positive
deleterious mutation.
Even before receiving genetic testing, Jodi had years of hurdles to jump through
just to receive a test or to receive proper medical attention from medical professionals.
Jodi consistently over 7 years requested genetic testing or requested more information
on genetic testing from her health care provider, and was turned away every time with
phrases like you are too young to worry or you are healthy, why are you worried?
Jodi decided to see another provider for something not connected to cancer and genetic
testing was brought up. After this, she was finally able to send in a blood sample for
testing. After years of being told not to worry, she received a positive result of a
deleterious mutation. After receiving word of her results, she was directed to a few
different oncologists, who refused to see her because she was unaffected with cancer
even though her lifetime risk of cancer was tested to be much higher than the general
population. A picture of Jodi in her YouTube interview is below.

Jodi finally found a support group that helped her find doctors that could help her,
and was able to receive the prophylactic surgeries that she desired. Her support group
was also able to help her prepare for her risks and help to support her through her
surgical operations. As I mentioned before, Jodi was faced with a genetic mutation that
increased her lifetime breast cancer risk by over 80% and ovarian cancer by 44%,
which her mother died of. But by preemptively having surgery on high risk cancer
organs, she was able to cut down her chances of cancer to a lower than normal
population percentage. (Jodi)
Fear of Testing
Jodi did a great service to many people by sharing her story. First of all, its hard
to be so public with personal concerns such as cancer, surgery, and her results of her
genetic makeup. But the whole point of what she did was to help others receive
information on the subject of genetic testing and to hear it from more of a normal
person rather than having a doctor or genetic counselor spout medical jargon at you. I
believe she may have felt lead to do this as she had such a hard time trying to find a
way to be tested. A frightened patient with concerns over the implications of genetic
testing can usually have some ease put on their concerns by hearing the experience
through someone else.
Many people may not have any concerns with genetic testing, but may be
completely open to the possibility of having their genes analyzed for mutations. Other
patients are afraid of their own mortality and feel that ignorance is bliss. Another
concern a patient might have is the possibility of genetic discrimination by insurance
companies. Most of this has been dealt with due to HIPAA and other laws, but there
have been reports of insurance companies who will not insure patients or their families
due to genetic results. Having a predisposition to certain diseases and cancers would
obviously be something that can be costly to an insurance company (and obviously for
the patient), so rather than receiving potentially lifesaving information a patient might
defer having a genetic test done to keep their insurance company happy or their
premiums lower.
Knowledge is Power
Obviously these tests are not for everyone. However, word of these tests should
be spread more avidly so that the correct audiences have the information that they need
to live longer and healthier lives. Jodi related the story of how her mothers life was
claimed earlier than it should have been due to cancer. Due to her mothers demise,
Jodi was proactive in the acquisition of knowledge on how to protect her-self from the
same fate. How many more lives could be saved, if even for a short time, due to having
more easily accessible information on genetic testing?





Works Sited Page
Cancer.org. Breast Cancer Key Statistics. 31 01 2014. 27 06 2014
<http://www.cancer.org>.
Jodi. "Jodi - BRAC Pack Patient Advocate - BRCA1 - Cancer "Previvor"." 21 05 2012.
Youtube. 27 06 2014 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmGdsw1-Jvw>.


Birth of Wikipedia

In March 2000 a project by the name of Nupedia was started by Bomis (a
company), Jimmy Wales and Larry Sangar .This program was a web-based
encyclopedia in which all material was written by contributors with knowledge in the
subject being written. After being written, these were peer reviewed by several expert
editors before being approved. This site only lasted until September of 2003, but is
considered to be the predecessor to Wikipedia.
Wikipedia was created to have eased criteria on the creation and editing of
articles. According to www.dictionary.com, a wiki specifically is a website that allows
anyone to add, delete, or revise content by using a web browser. This is the inherent
problem with Wikipedia being a credible source of information. Basically anyone at any
time can create or edit information to falsify it, unlike Nupedia and its closer successor
Citizendium which require multiple reviews by editors. This has caused many people
and institutions, namely schools and colleges, to question the reliability of Wikipedia,
and not allowing its information to be used as a reference. I wanted to look at both sides
of the question to help me evaluate exactly why Wikipedia is being treated as a useless
web encyclopedia or is actually more accurate than it is given credit for.
Given the assumption that not all information on Wikipedia is reliable, what exact
reasons are academic institutes disallowing the usage of this wiki site as a reference?
An article on a site that indexes academic articles named www.findingdulcinea.com
addresses this in length. This article has a 10 point list that lists why wiki pages cant be
trusted and most of the information listed is generalized and makes logical sense. An
example of one of their reasons is that there are contributors with agendas who can
deface information for personal gain, which is why you cannot rely on one source for
reliable information. Another point is something called vandalism (or intentional
falsification of the wiki) of information, and Wikipedia even quotes We do not expect
you to trust us. Even after these claims, at the bottom of the article is a short paragraph
claiming that Wikipedia can still be a constructive tool in a classroom, and links to a web
page giving insight on how to properly use Wikipedia as a research tool. (Moran)
But I wanted to view the statistical comparisons of Wikipedia compared to other
more reliable sources other than just the opinion of an article. Just exactly how reliable
or unreliable is Wikipedia? I googled this question, and found a link to a Wikipedia
article named reliability of Wikipedia. For the sake of creating a reliable report, I will use
Wikipedias reliability page and another source for comparison and to hopefully expel
any forms of bias.
Wikipedia outright admits to certain incidents, for example a falsified wiki of an
anti-slavery ship owner named Lon-Robert de L'Astran was created and given some
fame as a presidential elect gave praise to a person who didnt exist, but rather had a
hoax entry entered on Wikipedia. However, Wikipedia has had some praise from other
sources peer reviewing its information. A study done in 2005 in a journal named Nature
compared Wikipedia and the Encyclopdia Britannica, claiming that both sources had a
similar rate of serious errors. Reportedly Wikipedia and the Encyclopdia Britannica
both had four serious errors among the 42 analyzed articles. IBM researchers in 2003
found that "vandalism is usually repaired extremely quicklyso quickly that most users
will never see its effects." (Wikipedia)
A small (assumedly non-biased) study of a site named livescience.com
brought some more information to light. Before their study, this site indicates that the
information posted on Wikipedia about its positive reviews (such as the review from
Nature) appear to be true. For the actual study, a theoretical physicist reviewed a dark
matter article and a drummer of a band reviewed their bands own article. The physicist
commented that the dark matter entry was remarkably accurate, certainly better than
95% accurate. Nate Donmoyer, drummer of the band Passion Pit remarked that 10
factual errors appeared on his bands page, ranging from subtle to significant. Some
errors appeared to be added by companies in order to help publicity. Donmoyer was
very surprised at the amount of errors, and claimed he did not think he could trust
Wikipedia anymore. (Wolchover)
I have seen both positive and negative feedback on this subject. However, I
believe the results of the reviews posted on livescience.com can give us a forefront into
what information could more likely be assumed as true, and which articles may possibly
have falsified information. I believe the keyword here is money. My belief in this can be
shown by the example given by Donmoyers band. False information was entered by
companies in an attempt to raise publicity. Publicity will raise awareness of the band,
attract more fans, sell more music or apparel, etc. The dark matter article was more
based on that of academia. There inherently is not much to gain, the information
provided was already used in scholar journals, so it is not original, and even is still
theoretical. However, you can never be sure when companies may be using or
changing information for the hope of profit.
Through all of this, I believe that Wikipedia can be used as something akin to a
resource of a resource. If you need quick information, Wikipedia may be your best first
option to brush up on a topic you are not familiar with, but I believe the #10 tally on the
findingdulcinea article I mentioned above is the key to finding a way to utilize and
reference information in an academic way that will be approved 10. You must never
fully rely on any one source for important information. I believe this should be
followed strictly. All information that you are going to use to evaluate or compare a
subject needs to be aggressively researched in order to avoid any bias, misinformation,
or publicity stunt. Utilizing several sources and using all forms of media, including wikis,
can strongly bring down chances of you receiving wrongful information which in turn will
cause you to unknowingly give someone else wrongful information.



Works Sited
Moran, Mark E. "Finding Dulcinea." 27 October 2011. www.findingdulcinea.com. 7 July
2014 <http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/education/2010/march/The-Top-10-
Reasons-Students-Cannot-Cite-or-Rely-on-Wikipedia.html>.
Wikipedia. "Wikipedia." n.d. www.wikipedia.com. 7 July 2014
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia>.
Wolchover, Natalie. "Live Science." 24 January 2011. www.livescience.com. 7 July
2014 <http://www.livescience.com/32950-how-accurate-is-wikipedia.html>.



Modern Era of Genetic Testing
Healthcare has been under extreme change likely since the existence of
humans. One of the largest breakthroughs lately, or at least one that has taken bigger
strides, is genetic testing. In this article I want to report some facts of genetic testing and
bring to light why they are so important, how they can prevent sickness, and in many
cases save lives. Some of the first genetic tests were performed in the 1950s, mostly to
confirm conditions that were guess at due to symptoms or to screen newborns for
possible issues. Some of these diseases that were tested were those such as Down
syndrome, cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We have come a long way
since the 1950s. Today there are over 500 genetic testing labs that have implemented
diagnostic, predictive, prenatal, carrier, newborn and other types of genetic testing that
can be used to find over 2000 rare and common genetic conditions. This sounds great
to the medical field, but just what exactly is genetic testing, and how does it work?
(report.nih.gov)
Lets take a step back and explain exactly what is going on using a very
simplified description of the process. Genetic testing sequences your DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is located in the cells of most living entities, such as
mammals, plants and even bacteria. DNA is composed of 23 (46 if you consider how
humans are diploid, or have a pair of each gene) chromosomes, which is composed of
nucleotides or base pairs, which are four different chemical substances. These
substances are adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine, or simply A, C, G, T. What
genetic testing does is it uses PCR (a DNA replication technique) to create more DNA
that can be sequenced or transcribed into a form that is readable by our current
technology and creates a way for us to compare it to other similar sequenced DNA to
search for changes that may be deleterious. Deleterious simply means that a change
was found in your DNA that could be harmful. Harmful mutations are mutations that
have an effect on the coding of a protein that causes the protein to no longer do its job.
An example is with hereditary genetic cancer testing, deleterious mutations cause
proteins that no longer suppress tumors. With genetic testing, certain genes are
compared to a wild type, meaning the DNA found in a similar host found in nature
(unaffected), to determine if the subject being tested has any differences in the order or
number of their nucleotides. Whole genome testing isnt the most viable way of doing
this, as it is very expensive and time consuming. Usually, depending on the test, just
one or only a few genes are compared with the wild type DNA to analyze for mutations.
If differences are found in the tested genes, they can be reviewed to determine if they
are a deleterious mutation or if they are a polymorphism, meaning an allele change that
will not interfere with the genes natural coding of a protein, also known as non-
deleterious. (Riley)

(http://weddingrepublic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/DNA1.jpg)
Again, this is a very simplified walk through of the process. But if you decide to
go through with genetic testing, and have a positive or deleterious result, what exactly
can that mean? Depending on the type of testing you have, the test can simply be a
diagnosis as to why the patient has the symptoms of a certain condition, or it can be a
pre-determination factor of possible issues later in life. For example, according to the
USPSTF recommendation statement, The cancer types related to potentially harmful
mutations of the BRCA genes are predominantly breast, ovarian, and fallopian tube
cancer, although other types are also associated (1). In the general population, 12.3%
of women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime and 2.74% will die of the
disease, whereas 1.4% of women will develop ovarian cancer and 1.0% will die of the
disease (2). A womans risk for breast cancer increases to 45% to 65% by age 70 years
if there are clinically significant mutations in either BRCA gene (3, 4). Mutations in the
BRCA1 Gene increase ovarian cancer risk to 39% by age 70 years, and BRCA2
mutations increase ovarian cancer risk to 10% to 17% by age 70 years (3, 4). In the
general population, these mutations occur in an estimated 1 in 300 to 500 women (0.2%
to 0.3%) (58). In a meta-analysis conducted for the USPSTF, the combined prevalence
of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations was 2.1% in a general population of Ashkenazi Jewish
women (9). (Moyer)
Therefore, according to the United States Preventive Services Task Force, if you
are tested and have a mutation in one of these two genes greatly increase your chance
of certain cancers compared to the unaffected population. Just to reiterate and discuss
the numbers, specifically of breast cancer, if you are a female with a positive mutation in
your BRCA 1 or 2 genes you go from having a 12.3% of developing breast cancer to
45% to 65% of developing the disease. Basically, you have a 3.65-5.28 times chance
compared to the normal population of developing cancer. Many women will use this
knowledge to preemptively use surgical means to deny cancer a chance to form. If
these women so choose, they can have a mastectomy which substantially reduces
breast cancer risk by 85-100%. (Moyer)


This one example is obviously a desirable result from genetic testing. There are
still a few problems with fully utilizing all genetic tests. A lot of mutations and the genes
themselves are still misunderstood by the medical field as a whole. Simply not enough
research has occurred to completely rule out all negative complications of testing. With
genetic testing being utilized a lot more in the medical field, results are often being
dispersed to patients by nurses instead of genetic counselors. According to the article,
Utility and limitations of genetic/
genomic information and testing there has been a lack of training for nurses in
counseling patients on their genetic test results. The article concludes describing the
high importance for nurses of certain practices to have a full holistic understanding of
their line of work in multiple medical fields. However, sometimes in high throughput
offices nurses cannot always be counted on to achieve knowledge in multiple disciplines
and patients and their families may not always be given information on all methods of
healthcare available to them. (Skirton H)
Another large issue of genetic testing is the ethical concerns that have been
brought up since the integration of certain tests. One of these ethical concerns is with
parents having potential adoptive children tested before adoption. According to an
article in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, potential adoptive parents are claiming they
desire testing to help the state provide them with a child who is a best match for them.
However, more likely according to the article parents are actually hoping to obtain
children with the strong genetic backgrounds that the parents would prefer. (Leighton)
With all of this information it is important to keep all aspects of genetic testing in
mind. It can obviously be a very helpful diagnostic and preventive tool, but in some
cases not enough medical knowledge has truly been collected on the genes in question.
This lack of knowledge could mean missing deleterious genetic mutations, or not
knowing whether or not a specific mutation is in itself harmful or just a polymorphism to
the wild type gene. And lastly, we always have to remind ourselves and ask ourselves
why are do we desire this test in the first place. Ethically, are we doing this to better
ourselves, or to judge someone else? This aspect of medical testing should not be
taken lightly, but should be integrated in life carefully and with thorough medical
examination to reduce any and all risks of misinformation.

Works Cited
http://weddingrepublic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/DNA1.jpg. n.d.
Leighton, Kimberly. "To Criticize The Right To Know We Must Question The Value Of
Genetic Relatedness." The American Journal Of Bioethics (2013): 54-56.
Moyer, Virginia A. "Risk Assessment, Genetic Counseling, And Genetic Testing For
BRCA-Related Cancer In Women: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
Recommendation Statement." 18 February 2014. Academic Search Premier. 21
July 2014
<http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.dbprox.slcc.edu/eds/detail?vid=2&sid=d7f339c2-
3b30-46d8-9f41-
ae01f9eb7561%40sessionmgr115&hid=109&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU
%3d#db=aph&AN=94477202>.
report.nih.gov. 29 March 2013. 21 July 2014
<http://report.nih.gov/nihfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=43>.
Riley, Donald E. "DNA Testing: An Introduction For Non-Scientists." 6 April 2005.
Scientific Testimony An Online Journal. 21 July 2014
<http://www.scientific.org/tutorials/articles/riley/riley.html>.
Skirton H, Jackson L. "Utility and limitations of genetic/ genomic information and
testing." Nursing Standard (2013): 45-49.
Phillip Martin
Peer review

1. What portions of the introduction seem likely to engage the interest of the intended
audience? What are some strategies that might make the introduction more engaging?
Assuming that the audience is made up prominently of female athletic trainers in training, the
introduction details possible future roadblocks that may hinder them from future goals that
would obviously be important to them.
2. Note the writer's thesis statement, or explain what you see as the position being explained in
this paper.
I believe the thesis is this But are what I am left wondering is, Are females in the
profession facing barriers that exceed competence and experience? The thesis was very
early in the paper, and is backed up a little bit in the following sentences, but it feels a
little under spoken.
3. In what specific passages has the topic been developed thoroughly, especially by (a) providing
reasons and evidence that the audience will see as persuasive, (b) anticipating and responding
to objections or questions the audience is likely to raise, and (c) making appropriate appeals?
The writer appeared to have spoken with several athletes on the topic who gave their opinions
and references of studies on the subject. Having sources in my opinion provides thorough
research and a closer understanding of the subject. A lot of these answered questions a reader
may have, such as how does the athlete feel about this? I have commented these in my
review.
4. In what passages could the paper be more persuasive? What strategies might be used to do
this?
I think the paper has the potential to be persuasive with all the sources listed. I think potential
rewordings in certain areas may bring a more persuasive tone to the article. For example, in the
sentence about Kobes remark on having Seto as a therapist, if the writer simply indicated in
their sentence that the difference of having a female therapist is enormous. I believe anyway
to make the comment feel more positive toward the ideal of a female therapist.
5. How would you describe the voice the writer has created? At what points does that voice
seem appropriate, given the intended audience and topic? Does the writer establish adequate
ethos?
The voice felt very straight forward this paper almost felt like a research article instead of a
position. As I commented on in question 3, I feel having all the interviews and cited sources
creates more than adequate ethos.
6. How does the writer make use of pathos?
Pathos was immense in this report. It never uses the word, but the whole article touches on
sexual discrimination. In the line : would you judge your family doctor, the person who went
through all 11 years of school, and has many years of experience, because that person was the
opposite gender from yours? I wouldnt think so. This question/statement really brings to the
point who ridiculous the bias is, and has an opportunity to bring out an emotional response in the
reader.
7. What did you learn from the conclusion that you didn't already know after reading the
introduction and the body? What information does the writer want you to take away from the
argument? Does the writer attempt to change your attitude, action or opinion?
I dont feel the conclusion gave any new information, but it definitely reinforced many of the
ideals listed in the whole article. The writer really wants you to understand that athletes do not
care about gender for their therapists. The writer went on to use full caps in a sentence to really
bring that point out.






Michelle Mendez
Rebecca Miner
English 2010
August 3,2014
Daring to dream: Female going to the big boys land.

When I was little my dad used to tell me that if when people work really hard, and were dedicated, the
sky would is the limit. Many athletic trainers dream that all the sacrifices they have made to earn the
grades they have will pay off when an internship opportunity comes around and they are able to work
with a national team. But are what I am left wondering is, Are females in the profession facing barriers
that exceed competence and experience? Is there a slightly chance that there is an unspoken gender-biased
attitude that is detaining women from the highest levels of the profession. Otherwise, how would you
explain that there is only 1% of female
athletic trainers in the national teams,
when in January 2012, according to the
National Athletic training association,
more than 52% of their members were
female? (Martin13)
In order for us understand the why is this situation important, we need to know exactly who an
athletic trainer is. Athletic trainers are described as a first response health care provider for athletes. They
must work with other physicians (physical therapists or orthopedists) for diagnosis, and cover
rehabilitation for their clients and/or patients. On collegiate and professional teams depending on the
Division of the school, the athletic training team has at least four athletic training assistants on each team
who are supervised by a head athletic trainer. Keeping the description in mind, is it really that important
the gender of the person who is providing medical care? For example: would you judge your family
doctor, the person who went through all 11 years of school, and has many years of experience, because
that person was the opposite gender from yours? I wouldnt think so.
The barriers of a female athletic trainer:
A study conducted by Heidi Grappendorf, assistant professor at North Carolina University,
concluded in the study called National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Players'
Perceptions of Women in the Athletic Training Room Using a Role Congruity Framework, stated that
the football players exhibited a greater level of comfort with the same gender athletic trainers and
perceived female athletic trainers to fit into more stereotypical characteristics, which are characterized by
traits that are incongruous with those perceived to be necessary for a leadership position (Grappendorf
11). Such traits were mentioned earlier in the study by the athletes themselves, such as: Nice, gentle,
caring, organized, careful, helpful, energetic, easy to talk to, and sensitive (Grappendorf 40). Heaven
forbid that an athletic trainer should have such wonderful qualities. You would think that those qualities
would be exactly what would make someone an excellent professional.
Taking into consideration the allegations provided above, I have decided to ask Division I
athletes from different universities what their opinions were on this matter. Trent Trammells(BYU
Football athlete) season was affected last year for serious ACL injury that kept him away from the field
the entire season and, in order for him to get better he had to interact with the athletic trainers basically
every day. He stated, I actually like the female trainers more than males. Our athletic trainers are cool.
As long as they can get me back on the field, I am happy. In fact, out of all nine athletes I interviewed
none of them communicated the thought that they preferred male over female. In my four years as an
athletic training assistant at a high school, and after completing my observation hours at a college level,
Ive been able to look at the interactions between athletic trainers and athletes. Needless to say, in this
case we are trying to find an inconvenience where there really isnt one.
Another barrier for female athletic trainers is the highly possible chance of sexual harassment. A
study conducted at Central Michigan University by Dr. Rene Shingles, a professor and program director
for the school mentioned. The Journal concluded that 37% of female claimed yes[They were victims of
sexual harassment by opposite sex]. (Shingles 3). And although it does bring a valid point, its not fair
for women to be kept away from the professions best positions because a pack of boys cannot perform an
activity called self-control. Nor the people in charge take actions to prevent this from happening.
Furthermore, if rules were clarified and endorsed by coaches and head athletic trainers from the Major
Leagues I am almost positive that the percentage would be cut in half. Also, the author said that even if
someone asks their athletic trainer on a date it is considered a form of sexual harassment. Which, In my
opinion, this is taking things a little too far. Female trainers are be able to say no. And female trainers
shouldnt be scared to speak up to the right authorities if what the athletes are doing is not welcome and
the woman has provided a fair warning. The athletic trainer for Salt Lake Community College, Melanie
Nesbit, agreed and said, to be an athletic trainer, no matter if youre a man or a woman, the rules need to
be clear from the beginning. No athletes have done or said anything inappropriate that have made me feel
threatened. Thus we cant make an assumption that this will be a problem in the professional level.
Skye Povey (BYU Senior football player) brought a very interesting point when I asked him to
give me his opinion on his thought of why were only 1% of females on the higher level teams. He
mentioned the need for a lot of stuff needs to be done in locker rooms before practice and games. There
are a lot guys who are naked or showering, so its easier for a male to access. But the truth is that the
athletic training team is composed of four or more professionals, of which I am willing to bet at least one
is a male, so the stuff that needs to be taken care of in the trainer room could be done by a male while
the female trainers take care of something else like taping an athletes ankles.
Female trainers who have overcome the barriers
Now, lets talk about three females that who have been able to beat all the odds and were part of the big
boys league. Sue Falsone (Figure2) Los Angeles Dodgers
former Head athletic trainer. Falsone was hired in 2011 as the
one and only female head athletic trainer for a professional
team. (Stump 1)I didnt see myself as a trailblazer, but I
guess I do now (Stump 2). Plenty of people have blamed her
for a season full of injury. She confessed, "I made one
comment in a story that we're constantly talking to experts in the field to try to improve, and someone on
Twitter said, 'Well then, we don't want you. We want the expert,' Falsone says, laughing.(Moore 6)
There are also comments from others fans because last year there was a lot of injuries, the comments were
mostly anonymously made on the Internet, along the lines that a woman doesn't belong in the dugout or
the clubhouse'(Moore 8). So in other words, because she is a female, she is not capable of doing a great
job. Is not like she had the power to make protect every athlete from injury, or to force them to do their
stretches right for example . Dodgers manager, Don Mattingly, says, "People should be judged on what
they do and how good they are at doing it, not whether they're short or tall, or male or female. We judge
ourselves on how many injuries we have (Moore23). You see, people tend to forget that athletes do
whatever they want to do. Ive seen athletes pushing themselves to a breaking point when the athletic
trainer has advised them not to. It is a matter of personal choices. Athletic trainers cant make all the
athletes spend 15 minutes stretching to prevent injury. It all comes down to each individual athlete to take
the advice of the trainer.
Ariko Iso, (Figure 3) also made an important improvement in the
females careers, on the professional teams when she became the
first full-time athletic trainer for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2002.
Although she later returned to OSU (Oregon State University),
her alma mater, to become the head athletic trainer for the school,
she will always be remembered for many of us, as the first
woman to be an NFL athletic trainer.
My personal favorite is Judy Seto (Figure 3), not
only because she is the only female physical
therapist or athletic trainer in the NBA, but because
she is the therapist for one of the best teams, the
Lakers. According to an article published in the
Lakers site. When Kobe Bryant was asked if Having Seto as a full time Physical therapist made a
difference, he kept it short and sweet, saying, enormous. Seto provides proof that its possible for
females to make it at the professional level, and that there wont be any conflict, and/or problems for male
athletes to work with female trainers.
In conclusion, it doesnt have to matter what gender you are. The only thing you need is an chance to
prove you are worthy of the job. After that, it is all in your hands to make it happen. Judy Seto stated that
the situation will continue to improve, In the interview Lakers secret weapon. She said. as barriers
continue to be broken down, and perceptions change about women working in sports medicine (Trudell
31). In addition, Seto explained that players REALLY DONT (And I cant stress this enough) care if
you're male or female. If you can help them, you're the person (Trudell 30). No matter what other
naysayersmight say, dare to dream and do whatever it takes you to achieve them. Hard work will most
definitely pay off, no matter who it is coming from. As barriers continue to be broken down, and
perceptions change about women working in sports medicine the sky will be the limit for women once
and for all.
Work cited
Burton, L.,Drummond J. H., Grappendorf, SM, Harmon, AC, Henderson, and J., Peel. "Result Filters."
National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Aug. 2010. Web. 16
July 2014.
Kukich, Diane. "Beating the Odds." UDaily. University of Delaware, n.d. Web. 17 July 2014.
Martin, Lesly. "The Role of Women in Athletic Training."
Http://skyline.bigskyconf.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=journal. Syline, 19 Aug.
2013. Web. 16 July 2013.
Mendez, Michelle. Athletes take on female being a part of their team. April 2014
Shingles, Rene, and Yevonne Smith. 102 Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in Athletic Training (n.d.):
n. pag. NATAej.org. NATA, July-Aug. 2008. Web. July 2014.
Trudell, Mike. "L.A.'s Secret Weapon: Part 1 &Part 2." NBA.com. Lakers, n.d. Web. 17 July 2014