Abstract
PURPOSE As the athletic training profession advances, master’s degree accreditation standards aim to position athletic trainers as key players on interprofessional healthcare teams. Interprofessional education standards were recently introduced to academic leaders as key elements in the professional healthcare education of athletic trainers. While the current standards reflect essential skills for entry-level clinicians, faculty instructing these elements may require additional development. METHODS The objective of this study was to explore athletic training educators’ perceptions of interprofessional education and to examine perceived barriers related to the implementation of IPE in athletic training curricula. An electronic survey was administered to a stratified, random sample of 1000 athletic training education program faculty from the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) member database. Participating faculty completed the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) and a set of additional Likert-scale questions regarding barriers to implementation of IPE in athletic training education. RESULTS The results indicated that differences exist in faculty readiness to implement IPE based on faculty rank or role, years of teaching experience, prior experience and skill level using IPE, and geographical location of the athletic training program within the institution. CONCLUSION The results indicated that differences exist in faculty readiness to implement IPE based on faculty rank or role, years of teaching experience, prior experience and skill level using IPE, and geographical location of the athletic training program within the institution. Together, the findings suggest that IPE integration should include initiatives that provide administrative support, delineate leadership roles, offer formal IP development, and aim to create closer physical proximity among healthcare disciplines on campuses.
Highlights
The results indicated that differences exist in faculty readiness to implement IPE based on faculty rank or role, years of teaching experience, prior experience and skill level using IPE, and geographical location of the athletic training program within the institution
Athletic training is a healthcare profession recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) that specializes in prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of emergent, acute, and chronic injuries or medical conditions (NATA, n.d.)
Athletic trainers work as part of a collaborative interprofessional healthcare team; they coordinate patient care and possess the knowledge and skills necessary to collaborate with highly functioning medical teams
Summary
Athletic training is a healthcare profession recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA) that specializes in prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of emergent, acute, and chronic injuries or medical conditions (NATA, n.d.). Athletic trainers work as part of a collaborative interprofessional healthcare team; they coordinate patient care and possess the knowledge and skills necessary to collaborate with highly functioning medical teams. As a result of the parameters set for contemporary healthcare, the professional education of athletic trainers must evolve to include interprofessional knowledge, skills and, abilities (KSAs, Institute for Health Care Improvement, n.d.). While the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) has updated professional standards that include IPE and IPP (which will go into effect in 2020), faculty readiness for the implementation of IPE facilitation in the classroom or interprofessional practice (IPP) in the clinical space is yet to be determined
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