Orientation Tactics Utilized in Postprofessional Athletic Training Programs

Abstract

Context: Some newly credentialed athletic trainers pursue a postprofessional degree with a curriculum that specifically advances their athletic training practice. Orientation sessions are a tactic used to assist these students' transition into these new roles of graduate student and independent clinician, yet the structure of these sessions is unknown. Objective: Understand how postprofessional athletic training programs' orientation session structure integrates new students. Design: Qualitative. Setting: Semistructured phone interviews. Patients or Other Participants: Nineteen program directors (10 men, 9 women) from 13 Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education–accredited and 6 unaccredited postprofessional athletic training programs. Main Outcome Measure(s): Phone interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis used the principles of conventional content analysis. Credibility was maintained using peer review, member checks, and researcher triangulation. Results: Orientation sessions were used to familiarize students with policies, procedures, and expectations regarding their roles as student and clinician. These sessions occurred before role engagement, and were described by the themes type and time. Type referred to whether the orientation session was blended or individual. Blended sessions discussed information pertaining both to the academic program, such as course registration and research expectations, and to the clinical information affecting the graduate assistantship. Individual orientation sessions, on the other hand, discussed only academic program information or clinical information, not both. Time referred to the frequency of the orientation sessions. One-time orientation sessions occurred over the course of 1 day or 1 week, after which no additional orientation activities occurred. Conversely, ongoing orientation occurred throughout the semester. Conclusions: Postprofessional athletic training programs used different orientation methods to help newly credentialed athletic trainers transition into graduate students and practicing clinicians.