Among her many passions and pursuits, Ellen Payne, associate professor of athletic training, teaches an emergency medical services (EMS) course. Here she sits in as a model patient during a class in spinal motion restriction.
Ellen K. Payne is an associate professor of athletic training. Clinically, she has worked with all levels of athletes from youth sports to professional soccer. In the winter of 2019, she traveled to Spain with the US Paralympic Alpine Ski Team to serve as their athletic trainer during World Cup racing. Payne is also an EMT with Bethlehem Township EMS and member of the National Ski Patrol.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in the US Virgin Islands, but most of my school years were spent in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We moved a lot before Harrisburg, and then after college in Pittsburgh (Duquesne University), I moved to California for graduate school and stayed. Moving a lot definitely helped me be flexible, okay with change, and good at making new friends.
What are your research interests, and why are you drawn to them?
My research interests include prehospital emergency care, simulation, and athletic training education. Of course, other things have crossed my path as well. The things I am most interested in are practical and apply to clinical practice—that is what is most important to me. I want my research to make a difference, whether in educating athletic trainers or EMS providers—ideally both.
Tell us about your interest and experience in ski patrol.
I joined ski patrol due to its similarities with fire & EMS (fire and emergency medical services— teamwork, helping others, etc—which I had been involved with since high school. When I moved to California, fire & EMS were not an option, but ski patrol was. Helping others on the snow struck me as an amazing idea! I was a volunteer ski patroller in the Lake Tahoe area and then transferred to Pennsylvania when I moved east after completing my PhD. Currently I am on the paid patrol staff at Montage Mountain and also go to Mount Bohemia in Michigan for a week every winter to work as a patroller. I love the work I get to do, being on the snow, and the friends I have made in ski patrol.
Why did you choose to become a professor?
When I worked as an athletic trainer at a high school in California I had the opportunity to teach sports medicine classes and I loved it! I decided to go back to school for my PhD based on that experience (and some other teaching opportunities I have had). I love working with students, seeing them master new knowledge and skills, and growing as professionals. I had some amazing professors along my academic career, and I can only hope I can be half as good as they are. While teaching is important to me, I also think it is really important to maintain clinical skills and still practice. Because of that I work as a per diem athletic trainer, an EMT with two different ambulance companies, and ski patrol. I want to make sure my skills are up to date, and I am still doing the skills I ask students to learn. I think the blend of practitioner and educator is important for the content I teach.
Are there any specific moments from your experience with students that stand out in your mind as special?
Too many to write in a short paragraph but most are related to students’ clinical education experiences. Whether it is my EMT or MSAT students, I love seeing them in action and hearing about them applying the skills they have learned in my classes.
Share something about yourself that people may not know.
Hmm, that’s a hard question, especially after telling everyone I was born in the USVI. That’s usually my fun fact.
What do you like to do with your free time?
That’s an easy question, spend time with my three dogs, ski, and hike. (Sometimes I can do all three together.)
I can never resist a good ___
DOG!
What is the best advice you have ever received or a quote that stays with you?
“Sometimes you eat the bear; sometimes the bear eats you.”
Share something that makes you happy.
My dogs!