Context: Athletic training students and graduates are faced with many factors that direct them into or away from the athletic training profession as a final career choice. Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine the career decisions made by athletic training students following graduation from an accredited professional athletic training edcuation program (ATEP) and what work-related and ATEP program factors influenced their career decisions. Design: A 42-question self-reporting web-based survey was used. Setting: CAATE/CAAHEP-accredited ATEP programs. Participants: Seventeen hundred and ninety-two seniors and recent graduates of CAATE/CAAHEP-accredited programs from May 2005 through June 2007. Outcome Measures: Descriptive statistics were utilized to obtain frequency counts of the participants' responses. Results: The majority of the participants (82.4%) chose to pursue a career as an athletic trainer (AT), while the remainder (17.6%), indicated they did not seek employment as an AT. The college/university setting was the most frequently selected by those employed (45.6%) and those seeking employment (35.6%) as an AT. All 8 ATEP factors (clinical experience hours, clinical experience variety, roles/functions of a clinical instructor [CI] or approved clinical instructor [ACI], preparation to enter the field, level of confidence, CI or ACI attitude toward work setting, CI or ACI demonstration of professionalism, and encouragement from faculty, CI or ACI) were found to be influential in the participants' decisions to pursue a career as an AT. Salary, number of work hours per week, found another profession more interesting, and uncertain or changing work schedule were the most influential factors reported for choosing to not pursue a career as an AT. Conclusions: The decision to pursue a career as an AT is influenced by ATEP faculty, ACIs, and CIs.
To discover the theoretic constructs that confirm, disconfirm, or extend the principles and their applications appropriate for National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA)–accredited postprofessional athletic training education programs.Objective: Interviews at the 2003 NATA Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia.Design: Qualitative study using grounded theory procedures.Setting: Thirteen interviews were conducted with postprofessional graduates. Participants were purposefully selected based on theoretic sampling and availability.Patients and Other Participants: The transcribed interviews were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding procedures. Member checks, reflective journaling, and triangulation were used to ensure trustworthiness.Data Collection and Analysis: The participants' comments confirmed and extended the current principles of postprofessional athletic training education programs and offered additional suggestions for more effective practical applications.Results: The emergence of this central category of novice to expert practice is a paramount finding. The tightly woven fabric of the 10 processes, when interlaced with one another, provides a strong tapestry supporting novice to expert practice via postprofessional athletic training education. The emergence of this theoretic position pushes postprofessional graduate athletic training education forward to the future for further investigation into the theoretic constructs of novice to expert practice.Conclusions:
Context In order for athletic training students to be successful in any athletic training education program (ATEP), a certain level of commitment to the program and profession is required. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the applicability of the sport commitment model (SCM) to an ATEP by applying the SCM in an academic setting to predict ATEP students' commitment to an ATEP. Design Cross-sectional, survey. Setting Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education–accredited ATEP. Patients or Other Participants A total of 99 male and female athletic training students participated. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 24 years of age (mean = 20.10 ± 1.28). Intervention(s) Previously validated measures were used to assess students' perceptions of enjoyment, attractive alternatives, investments, social constraints and support, benefits and costs, and commitment to the ATEP. All measures demonstrated adequate reliability for the current sample (Cronbach α = 0.71–0.93). Main Outcome Measure(s) A simultaneous multiple regression was conducted to determine which of the SCM determinants predicted ATEP commitment. An analysis of variance and a multivariate analysis of variance were conducted to compare preservice and first-, second-, and third-year ATEP students on SCM constructs. Results Perceived enjoyment and investments emerged as the significant predictors for ATEP commitment, with higher perceptions of enjoyment and investments predicting higher ATEP commitment. Students of varying academic years differed on their perceptions of ATEP enjoyment, with preservice students reporting higher enjoyment than first- or third-year students, and second-year students reporting higher enjoyment than third-year students. Additionally, preservice students reported significantly higher commitment and benefits, and lower costs and attractive alternatives, than first- and third-year students. Second-year students reported lower perceived costs than first- and third-year students. Conclusions The SCM may provide a theoretical framework in which to predict ATEP students' commitment to the program, as well as behavioral commitment (eg, stay/leave behavior).
Context Understanding changes in athletic training program (ATP) commitment over time is crucial in retaining high-quality students in an ATP. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine if changes over time in ATP commitment determinants are related to actual changes in ATP commitment. Design Longitudinal and cross-sectional survey. Setting Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education-accredited ATP. Patients or Other Participants A total of 99 male and female athletic training students participated in Time 1. A total of 71 (39% males, 61% females) of the original 99 participants participated in Time 2. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 24 years (mean = 20.05, standard deviation = 1.28). Data Collection and Analysis Previously validated measures assessed students' perceptions of enjoyment, attractive alternatives, investments, social constraints and support, benefits and costs, and commitment to ATP over time. Change scores for Times 1 and 2 were calculated for each predictor and commitment to ATP. Two multiple regression analyses determined which changes in the determinants of commitment predicted a change in commitment. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) determined the magnitude of change in the model variables over time. Lastly, a multivariate ANOVA compared who continued, graduated, and discontinued in the ATP. Results Increases in investments and enjoyment predicted positive changes in commitment from Time 1 to Time 2. Additionally, decreases in classmates' social constraints and increases in professors' social constraints positively predicted changes in commitment. When exploring the magnitude of change in the model variables, only increases and decreases in enjoyment from Time 1 to Time 2 were related to concomitant changes in commitment. Lastly, graduating students reported lower commitment and enjoyment and higher perceived costs than did those students who remained in the ATP and had not yet graduated. Conclusions Athletic training program commitment predictors tend to change over time; ATP enjoyment is critical to continued motivation.
Clinical Scenario: Injury to the plantar fascia, whether acute or chronic, is common among many populations. A conventional multiple-treatment approach is commonly administered by health care providers, consisting of controlling inflammation, managing pain, and promoting healing. Frequently, the initial treatment for plantar fasciitis is targeted at increasing dorsiflexion range of motion by stretching the gastroc-soleus musculature. It has been theorized that inflexibility of the gastroc-soleus complex can lead to excessive pronation and overcompensation of the plantar fascia at the first metatarsal phalangeal joint, therefore increasing the stress at the medial calcaneal insertion. Therefore, it is deemed that gastrocnemius-soleus stretches are a beneficial treatment in the initial stage of a plantar fasciitis treatment or rehabilitation program. Focused Clinical Question: Is a gastrocnemius-soleus stretching program, as a stand-alone treatment variable, effective in the treatment of plantar fasciitis?Keywords: heel pain, evidence-based practice, outcomes Clinical ScenarioInjury to the plantar fascia, whether acute or chronic, is common among many populations. A conventional multiple-treatment approach is commonly administered by health care providers, consisting of controlling inflammation, managing pain, and promoting healing. Frequently, the initial treatment for plantar fasciitis is targeted at increasing dorsiflexion range of motion by stretching the gastroc-soleus musculature. It has been theorized that inflexibility of the gastroc-soleus complex can lead to excessive pronation and overcompensation of the plantar fascia at the first metatarsal phalangeal joint, therefore increasing the stress at the medial calcaneal insertion. Therefore, it is deemed that gastrocnemius-soleus stretches are a beneficial treatment in the initial stage of a plantar fasciitis treatment or rehabilitation program. Focused Clinical QuestionIs a gastrocnemius-soleus stretching program, as a standalone treatment variable, effective in the treatment of plantar fasciitis? Summary of Search, "Best Evidence" Appraised, and Key Findings• The literature was searched for studies of level 4 evidence or higher that investigated effects of gastrocnemius-soleus stretching as a treatment for plantar fasciitis.• The literature search returned 12 possible studies related to the clinical question; four studies met the inclusion criteria and were included. • Eight studies were excluded primarily because they combined other treatment variables with gastrocnemius-soleus stretching.• Three level 1b randomized controlled trials were included. One level 2b study was included.• Two studies reported that stretching of the plantar fascia was significantly more effective than gastrocnemius-soleus stretching as a treatment. 1,2 • One study reported that gastrocnemius-soleus stretching was not significantly different from sham ultrasound as a treatment. 3 • One study reported that calcaneal taping was significantly more effective than gastrocnemius-soleus ...
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