Athletic Training Student Core Competency Implementation During Patient Encounters

Abstract

Context: Health care research evidence suggests that early patient encounters (PEs), as well as the purposeful implementation of professional core competencies (CCs), for athletic training students (ATSs) may be beneficial to their ability to provide care. However, no investigators have related facets of the clinical education experience with CC implementation as a form of summative assessment of the clinical experience.Objective: To determine the relationship between the frequency and length of PEs, as well as the student's role and clinical site during PEs, and the students' perceived CC implementation during these encounters.Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Professional athletic training program, National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institution.Patients or Other Participants: We purposefully recruited 1 athletic training program that used E*Value software; 40 participants (31 females, 9 males) enrolled in the professional phase (12 first year, 14 second year, 14 third year) participated.Intervention(s): Participants viewed a 20-minute recorded CC educational module followed by educational handouts, which were also posted online for reference throughout the semester. The E*Value software was used to track PEs, including the type of encounter (ie, actual patient, practice encounter, didactic practice scenario), the type of site where the encounter occurred (university, high school), and the participant's role (observed, assisted, performed), as well as responses to an added block of questions indicating which, if any, of the CCs were implemented during the PE.Main Outcome Measure(s): Variables per patient were PE length (minutes), participant role, site at which the encounter occurred, and whether any of the 6 CCs were implemented (yes/ no). Variables per participant were average encounter length (minutes), encounter frequency, modal role, clinical site assignment, and the number of times each CC was implemented. Separate 1-way analyses of variance were used to examine the relationships between role or clinical site and implementation of total number of CCs. Multiple linear regressions were used to determine how the average length and frequency of PEs were related to the average and total number of implemented CCs. Binary logistic regression models indicated how the length of each encounter, role of the participant, and type of clinical site related to the implementation of each CC.Results: The roles of participants during PEs were related to their ability to implement the total number of CCs (F ¼ 103.48, P , .001). Those who observed were likely to implement fewer total CCs than those who assisted (M diff ¼ À0.29, P , .001); those who assisted were likely to implement more total CCs than those who performed (M diff ¼ 0.32, P , .001). Frequency of encounters was the only significant variable in the model examining all independent variables with CC implementation (b 4,32 ¼ 3.34, t ¼ 9.46, P , .001).Conclusions: The role of the student, namely assisting during PEs, and the volume of PEs shou...

Effect of Procedure Type on Core Competency Implementation by Athletic Training Students

“…[1][2][3] It has been established that PCC is the most likely CC to be implemented by practitioners in a variety of health care fields and is more likely to be implemented during PEs in which the student is assisting their preceptor. 7,10 Our findings suggest that PCC is more likely to be implemented during PEs that include an evaluation, rehabilitation, or manual therapy procedure. It is likely that this occurred because all of these procedures would typically include thorough communication with the patient, and patient communication is a critical component of PCC.…”

“…Program administrators should continue to emphasize the importance of preceptor-guided practice and encourage students to assist preceptors in PEs to increase the likelihood of PCC implementation. 7 Increased educational emphasis should be placed on the connection between the coordination of care with other health care providers as a component of PCC to help students better understand the totality of this particular CC.…”

“…6 Past research has identified that the role of the student, such as observing, assisting, or performing patient encounters (PEs), relative to the role of the preceptor may impact CC implementation. 7 It has been noted that students who assist their preceptor during PEs are more likely to implement CCs. 7 Additionally, students who have a higher volume of PEs during clinical education have increased opportunities to implement CCs.…”

“…7 It has been noted that students who assist their preceptor during PEs are more likely to implement CCs. 7 Additionally, students who have a higher volume of PEs during clinical education have increased opportunities to implement CCs. 7 As the CCs have not been a required component of the professional educational preparation of athletic trainers in the past, there is still scarce evidence demonstrating which characteristics of clinical education allow for the implementation of the CCs when students are interacting with actual patients.…”

“…7 Additionally, students who have a higher volume of PEs during clinical education have increased opportunities to implement CCs. 7 As the CCs have not been a required component of the professional educational preparation of athletic trainers in the past, there is still scarce evidence demonstrating which characteristics of clinical education allow for the implementation of the CCs when students are interacting with actual patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore CC implementation by athletic training students relative to procedures included during PEs occurring within clinical education.…”