Jim,
Thanks for bringing this timely issue to this discussion group. From my
perspective as the clinical coordinator in an ATEP, this is a hot topic, and I
expect that as athletic training education continues to evolve, it will only
become more important.
The research on clinical education shows that the one of the most important
characteristics of an ACI is clinical competence. If a student perceives that his/
her ACI is not competent, learning is at best impeded and at worst non-
existent. So in order to be a good teacher, the ACI must be competent. Another
important characteristic is confidence. The ACI must be confident, and
confidence is bred of competence. I would argue that competence and
confidence are also the biggest contributors to quality athletic healthcare. So
you have to ask yourself: Can an athletic trainer truly be delivering quality
athletic healthcare and not be a good ACI?
Next consider the sources of data used to determine the quality clinical
education vs. quality athletic healthcare. ATEPs evaluate ACIs and clinical
education annually as part of the CAATE requirements. Formal evaluations as
well as interviews with athletic training students are typically used to assess ACI
performance and the quality of clinical education. Evaluation of quality athletic
healthcare is not performed as regularly or with the same sense of purpose. In
some athletic departments, coaches and athletes complete evaluation forms that
provides feedback on athletic training services. Sometimes coaches, athletic
directors, and/or the head AT meet with the ATC annually to discuss the quality
of athletic healthcare. However, the evaluation of athletic healthcare is typically
not a rigorous as the evaluation of clinical education. In some cases, evaluation
of athletic healthcare is missing entirely.
So, in the case you mentioned, where is the proof that your friend is actually
delivering a high level of care, that your friend is a competent athletic trainer?
Do the coaches and athletes perceive that this athletic trainer is delivering
quality athletic healthcare? I suspect if you ask the program director and/or
clinical coordinator for proof that your friend is not a quality ACI, there is data
to support that determination. The chances of there being proof that your friend
is competent are fairly slim.
ATEPs must continue to demand excellence from ACIs. In the long run, high
standards of clinical education will benefit the ACI, because he/she will be
challenged to learn new information and hone not only clinical education skills,
but athletic training skills as well. It is tough for many of today's practicing
athletic trainers to realize they have much to learn about athletic training- that
students are learning much more in ATEPs today than they did 10 years ago, or
even 5 years ago. But it is unacceptable for the practicing athletic trainer to
ignore this fact and therefore reject what the ATEPs are teaching. To quote
Chuck Kimmel, athletic trainers must, now more than ever, embrace change.
So, can an athletic trainer truly be delivering quality athletic healthcare and not
be a good ACI? It's possible, but it's not likely.
Respectfully,
Meg
Meg Frederick Thompson, EdD, ATC
Clinical Coordinator
Athletic Training Education Program
Longwood University
201 High Street
Farmville, VA 23909
(434) 395 2839 (W)
(434) 395 2380 (F)
frederickma%40longwood.edu">frederickma
longwood.edu
.
