Employer Perceptions of the Academic Preparation of Entry-Level Certified Athletic Trainers

Abstract

Objective: To determine employers' (clinic based ATs) perceived satisfaction of the academic preparation of entry-level ATs, and to identify perceived inadequacies of the (ATEP) curriculum. Design and Setting: Athletic trainers employed in clinical setting completed an online survey instrument. Subjects: One-hundred-four ATs serving in the NATA defined clinical employment setting who had supervised an entry-level employee. Measurements: Participants completed an online survey evaluating their employee's didactic and clinical preparation for entry-level employment on a 4-point scale and 34 statements on a 5-point Likert scale to ascertain their satisfaction of the employee's academic preparation across the content areas comprising the BOC domains of knowledge and skills. Statistical analysis was conducted using a Cronbach's Alpha to evaluate internal consistency (.79–.88) of the scales. Results: Only 104/1716 (6%) of employers responded to the survey. These employers rated the didactic and clinical preparation of their entry-level employees as adequate (75%, N=77), and there were no apparent deficiencies in employee preparation when comparing across content areas. Employers did report that interpersonal skills, as opposed to technical skills, were an area that could be expanded upon. Conclusions: Employers perceived that ATEP's are adequately preparing students, both academically and clinically, for entry-level positions within the profession, although they should provide students more opportunities for interpersonal communications with coaches, parents, and the medical community.

Preceptors' Frequency and Supervision of Athletic Training Students' Medical Documentation During Clinical Education

“…3 Employers have also noted that organization and administration, the overarching component for medical documentation, is the largest area of concern for newly credentialed entry-level clinicians. 4,5 Clinical education is a required component of an athletic training student's educational experience and is designed to help athletic training students translate the knowledge gained in the classroom through application during patient care in a safe, mentored environment. 6 Preceptors, who teach and evaluate students during clinical experiences with real-time patient encounters, 7 play a vital role in the overall quality of the clinical education experience for athletic training students through clinical supervision, mentorship, and evaluation.…”

Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Professional Preparation for Their Role as Collegiate Graduate Assistants

“…Despite having standardized requirements for education, some programs have had difficulty ensuring students are obtaining adequate clinical experiences and skills required for clinical practice. 12 Often, academic and clinical incongruence were due to factors outside of student and preceptor control, such as not gaining exposure to various situations (eg, spineboarding, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, progressing a patient through a postoperative rehabilitation, psychosocial intervention, and referral situation) or situations occurring at times incongruent with the athletic training student's progression (eg, seeing an anterior cruciate ligament tear prior to learning how to assess knee injuries). Teachable moments are sometimes missed because of timing of a situation.…”

“…9,10,12 Participants expressed these were areas of weakness because they felt they did not get adequate clinical experience in these areas, especially in interpersonal communication. Employers consistently rate interpersonal communication as important for ATs, 9,10,12 yet this has been continuously cited as an area of weakness for new ATs. Graduate assistant ATs report that communicating with coaches and parents is challenging because they had never gained that experience during their professional preparation.…”

“…9,11 Supervisors and employers report that new ATs are academically prepared, but they are not receiving autonomous experiences during their professional preparation, especially in decision making, communication, time management, rehabilitation, and organization and administration. 9,10,12 This is a crucial time in athletic training education, as educational standards are evolving and professional programs are transitioning to the professional master's level. Curriculums are being redesigned to accommodate new standards and institutional requirements for graduate level education.…”

Validation of the Quantitative Diagnostic Thinking Inventory for Athletic Training: A Pilot Study

“…Several studies have noted that a common deficiency of entrylevel health care professionals is the inability to effectively reason during a difficult clinical situation. [1][2][3][4] Although it is accepted in allied health care education that the development of clinical reasoning is necessary, the concepts surrounding the development of clinical reasoning have been ambiguous and confusing. [5][6][7][8][9] Clinical reasoning has most recently been defined in the athletic training literature as ''the cognitive processes, decision making, problem solving, or focused thinking used in the evaluation and management of a patient.''…”