Challenges for Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers During Their Transition to Practice

Abstract

Context Understanding the challenges faced by newly credentialed athletic trainers (ATs) as they transition into clinical practice could assist employers and professional programs in developing initiatives to enhance this transition. Objective To explore the challenges faced by newly credentialed ATs during their transition from student to autonomous practitioner. Design Qualitative study. Setting Individual phone interviews. Patients or Other Participants A total of 34 ATs certified between January and September 2013 participated in this study (18 women, 16 men; age = 24 ± 2 years; work settings = college, secondary school, clinic, and other). Data saturation guided the number of participants. Data Collection and Analysis An interview guide was used. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed via phenomenologic reduction, with data coded for common themes and subthemes. Trustworthiness was established via intercoder reliability, member checks, and peer review. Results Initially, participants had difficulty making decisions independently. However, making decisions and receiving positive feedback helped them develop confidence. Communication with coaches and parents was challenging, especially for those in the secondary school setting. Participants also experienced role ambiguity, as they were unsure of basic organizational and administrative structures and expectations. Mentor inaccessibility was the final challenge described by respondents. In particular, those in the secondary school setting and with part-time employment felt they did not have a supervisor or mentor whom they could contact for support and guidance. Conclusions Professional programs should educate students on potential challenges to help them understand what they might encounter during the transition to clinical practice. Employers should provide clear expectations and job descriptions to alleviate some of the stress and role ambiguity. If a mentor is not provided by the employer, the newly credentialed AT should seek one to assist during the transition.

Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Their Transition to Practice

“…Many new ATs cited role ambiguity as a source of stress during the transition. 21 This role ambiguity is related to uncertainty about certain policies, procedures, administrative duties, and their role. One way to help new ATs understand their role is through thorough orientation and continued onboarding.…”

“…11 Although participants in our study had been employed for only approximately 2 to 3 months, which was not long enough to adequately determine success or failure, individuals who perceived higher levels of mentorship and support were less likely to consider leaving the profession. Prior researchers 21 demonstrated the benefits of mentorship in the transition to practice, despite mentor inaccessibility being cited as a challenge during this time. Our results indicated that most new ATs felt they could go to their mentor or supervisor anytime they had a question.…”

“…If not assigned mentors, new ATs should actively seek and be involved in forming relationships with mentors. 21,33 Organizational Transition…”

“…One of the challenges associated with transition to practice is role ambiguity, in which new ATs are unsure about basic organizational and administrative expectations or expectations of their role. 21 A great deal of stress associated with the transition can be attributed to role ambiguity and role overload during the transition. 34 As new clinicians transition to their roles, they are initially so overwhelmed that they are focused on themselves, understanding their role, and how they are adjusting.…”

“…10 Often, the graduate assistantship is used as a formal mode of transitioning newly credentialed ATs into practice, allowing new ATs to gain independent practice experience while being mentored and supported by an experienced AT. 8,[11][12][13] Transition to practice has been widely studied in nursing and is gaining more recognition in athletic training research 1,[5][6][7][8][9][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] ; however, many of these studies were qualitative in nature. Although some of the challenges and feelings associated with this transition have been ex-plored, 1,21 how specific characteristics, such as the employment setting, type of professional program, or job title, affect the newly credentialed AT's feelings during transition to practice is unknown.…”