Various tapes, gauze, scissors and electrolytes fill a sports medicine intern’s “med kit” bag. You may have seen these kits wrapped around interns’ bodies at sporting events, without knowing they are essential not only to the interns but also to athletes.
Used for easy access to tools and bandages, these bags never leave the interns’ sight. Interns partake in hours of training during practices and games, where these kits are always within reach in case of injuries.
Interns decorate these bags to their personal liking and use them to showcase their personality with items such as colorful patches or scented hand sanitizers.
Ava Bauer, what’s in your bag?
Being in the sports medicine program for three years, president Ava Bauer’s med kit (12) has seen it all and been there through every step of her journey — from long hours of sweaty football practices to thrilling basketball triumphs.
Bauer’s journey is apparent through the contents of her med kit. As the years piled up on each other, the more complex the contents of her bag got. She makes sure her bag is filled with “various kinds of tape, so [she is] always prepared.”
“I also always have Band-Aids, gauze, electrolytes and pens on hand,” Bauer said.
Having these necessities in her bag allows Bauer to feel prepared at all times. Whether it’s electrolytes fueling her athletes or having a bandage for a quick response to emergencies, she always makes sure she has everything.
“I carry plenty of gloves in the front pocket in case I need them in a hurry,” Bauer said. “I also have tissues, hand sanitizer, and extra mouth guards.”
Bauer’s favorite parts of sports medicine are “building connections with other students and learning about healthcare.”
Zayna Green, what’s in your bag?
From her front pockets filled with gloves and gauze to pockets packed tightly with electrolytes and nose plugs, Zayna Green, the school’s Head Athletic Trainer, is prepared for any situation on the field or in the gym.
Green plays a critical role in teaching and mentoring all of the sports medicine interns by providing training and constant advice.
Additionally, in her front pocket, she always carries “an extra hand sanitizer.”
“And then I have my smaller finger tape just because I like to be able to just grab it pretty quickly,” Green said.
Before moving into the rest of her “Mary Poppins” style bag, Green discussed the history of the med kit.
“Nexus Sports Medicine is a company that was created by an athletic trainer, which is cool, because there are a bunch of different versions of this bag,” Green said.
As an “overpacker,” Green finds the bag practical and effective.
“But this is one of those bags where there are so many compartments,” Green said. “There’s probably over 100 things in my bag.”
When this med kit was designed, the creators’ main focus was practicality.
“When I’m traveling with the teams beyond just football, I need to be able to have stuff for all of our teams,” Green said. “I work with all of our CIF athletes, not just our football program.”
Green keeps her favorite essentials in the middle section of her bag.
“In the middle section, I have my favorite pair of scissors,” Green said. “We all have honey sticks, just like a quick sugar slash, a little bit of electrolytes. [There are also] different types and different sizes of Band-Aids.”
She also carries a screwdriver, tweezers, nail clippers — anything for wounds. In her “junk drawer” pocket, Green packs it up with “zip ties, safety pins, hair ties, contact solution, nail clippers, eye drops and other miscellaneous items.”
In the back compartment, she has extras of items like mouth guards, gauze, little cushions to cushion blisters and wounds, extra chapstick and extra ice bags.
Green shared the importance of the gadgets and keychains she has attached to the bag.
“I have key chains on the side … One is from a company that my friend made … Her name is Kira,” Green said. “The company is called State Crafty, she does key chains, stickers, little tags for sports medicine and healthcare in general.”
Additionally, Green carries a spray hand sanitizer from Touchland and an “I Heart NY” keychain, which she collected when the football team traveled to New York City last year.
“I will always have a towel [on the top of the bag], [I] just slide it through the top part,” Green said. “If something is bleeding a lot and we just need to be able to stop it quickly, we will put a towel over it so that I can deal with the injury and [give the athlete some privacy].
Emily Paik, what’s in your bag?
Sports medicine intern, Emily Paik (11), fills her bag with a variety of essential equipment, such as “scissors, power flex, tape, hydroperoxide spray [and] gloves.”
Paik elaborated on the value of having her tools on hand.
“Scissors are super useful for cutting off any tape or loose bits or jerseys … I have what we call “blood tape,” which is really just power flex,” Paik said. “We use this for turf injuries and cleaning up blood. Normal tape is used for taping thumbs, wrists, ankles … [I also have] hydroperoxide spray for quickly cleaning any cuts from bacteria and gauze for turf burns and any bleeding.”
Being part of the internship for the past two years, Paik’s highlights have been being able to meet all of the athletes and helping them with injury prevention and cupping.
