Graduate-Assistant Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of the Supervisor's Role in Professional Socialization: Part II

Mazerolle

2016

Self Cite

Section: Mentoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Perceptions of Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers as They Transition to Practice

Mazerolle

2016

Self Cite

“…We developed the survey using results from interviews with supervisors of newly credentialed ATs, 11 interviews with GA ATs, 12,13 and the previous literature 22 examining the transition to practice of medical students. The survey was part of a larger instrument that also examined orientations provided to newly credentialed ATs.…”

Section: Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Their Transition to Practice

2020

Self Cite

Context Newly credentialed athletic trainers (ATs) have reported stress and role ambiguity during the transition to practice. Previous researchers focused on their qualitative experiences, yet no investigators have explored how characteristics such as the setting or type of educational program affect the transition to practice. Objective To determine how newly credentialed ATs perceived their transition to practice. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Online survey. Patients or Other Participants Of 1835 newly credentialed ATs (18%) certified and employed between January and September, 332 completed the survey within 3 months of employment (129 men, 203 women; age = 23.58 ± 2.54 years). Main Outcome Measure(s) The survey consisted of demographic information (eg, employment setting, job title) and 3 sections: (1) comfort level during the transition (CL), (2) feelings of mentorship and support (MS), and (3) feelings of organizational transition. Participants identified their feelings of nervousness, support, and understanding organizational values using a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree). Descriptive statistics were calculated for each survey item. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis (H) tests were used to determine associations between different demographic characteristics and responses regarding orientation and CL, MS, and feelings of organizational transition. Results Most participants agreed or strongly agreed that they felt nervous (n = 264, 79.2%) and that the transition was stressful (n = 227, 68.1%) but they felt prepared for their job (n = 262, 78.7%). No differences in CL were present among settings (H = 5.64, P = .228), job titles (H = 4.88, P = .087), or types of professional program (U = 6488, P = .279). Respondents who were assigned a mentor reported better perceptions of MS (U = 6250, P < .001). Most participants felt that supervisors adequately explained administrative procedures during orientation (n = 169, 54.3%) and felt they were adequately oriented to organizational values (n = 252, 75.7%). Conclusions New ATs felt nervous when entering their new role, but having a mentor and receiving a detailed orientation helped alleviate stress during the transition to practice.

“…Supervisors and other staff members can also provide support to the new ATs, which can help the latter become involved in the organizational culture and develop self-efficacy. 29, 43 Pitney et al 37 observed that finding stability within an organization was related to collegiality, administrative support, and alignment of organizational values with the AT's values. Supervisors can begin employment for new ATs by outlining the organization's values along with role expectations to ensure congruence with their values.…”

Section: Orientation Tacticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A mentor is a valuable resource for a new AT transitioning into his or her role. 2,29,43 Although some orientation tactics received higher mean values than others, nearly all of the tactics were at least minimally useful; therefore, supervisors should consider all of these tactics when designing the orientation process. Supervisors should also provide resources, such as an EAP, policies and procedures manual, and outline of various protocols.…”

Section: Suggestions For Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orientation Process for Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers in the Transition to Practice

2018

Self Cite

Context: Orientation is an important part of socialization and transition to practice, yet the orientation process for newly credentialed athletic trainers (ATs) is unknown.Objective: To determine how newly credentialed ATs are oriented to their roles.Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Online survey.Patients or Other Participants: Three hundred thirty-two of 1835 newly credentialed ATs (18%) certified and employed between January and September of 2013 completed the survey (129 men, 203 women; age ¼ 23.58 6 2.54 years).Data Collection and Analysis: The survey consisted of demographic information (eg, employment setting, job title) and 2 sections: (1) orientation tactics and (2) usefulness of orientation tactics. For the first section, participants identified if various orientation tactics were included in their orientations (eg, policies and procedures review). For the second section, participants identified how useful each orientation tactic was on a Likert scale (1 ¼ not useful, 4 ¼ very useful). Descriptive statistics were calculated for each survey item. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine differences between demographic characteristics and orientation tactics. A Bonferroni correction accounted for multiple comparisons. A panel of experts established the content validity of the survey. The Cronbach a was used to establish internal consistency (a ¼ 0.802)Results: The most common orientation tactics were meeting with supervisors (n ¼ 276, 82.9%) and staff members (eg, coaches; n ¼ 266, 79.9%) and learning responsibilities (n ¼ 254, 76.2%). The least common orientation tactics were simulation of the emergency action plan (n ¼ 66, 19.8%) and preceptor development (n ¼ 71, 21.3%); however, preceptor development was not applicable to many participants. The most useful orientation tactics were simulating the emergency action plan (3.45/4.0) and meeting with staff members (3.44/4.0). Participants who felt their orientation prepared them for their roles were exposed to more tactics during orientation (Mann-Whitney U ¼ 17 212, P , .001).Conclusions: Many tactics were used to orient newly credentialed ATs to their roles, but orientations varied based on the practice setting.Key Words: onboarding, professional socialization, role inductance Key PointsThe orientation process for newly credentialed athletic trainers (ATs) varied by setting and job title, with many new ATs receiving little formal orientation. Employers should provide structured orientations for newly credentialed ATs to ease stress during the transition to practice. Processes used to orient newly credentialed ATs to their roles should include addressing policies and procedures, explaining the organizational mission and goals, reviewing the emergency action plan, and meeting with staff members, such as ATs, coaches, athletic directors, team physicians, and other individuals with whom the new AT will interact.