The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) is a member organization that oversees the health care profession of certified athletic trainers. A large body of research focused on the structure and content of curriculum for undergraduate programs has played a prominent role in the increase in their quantity and quality. Although attention has been called to graduate-level athletic-training education programs, there is currently a lack of research focused on NATA-accredited post-professional athletic training education programs (PPATEPs). Using qualitative analysis, program directors' perceptions of quality in these NATA-accredited PPATEPs was assessed. In-depth phone interviews were conducted regarding topics such at the accreditation standards, curricular content, perceived benefits of attending a program, and the future or sustainability of accredited PPATEPs. After these topics were discussed with participants, three main themes emerged. Program directors of NATA-accredited PPATEPs undergo a special accreditation process that assesses and attempts to improve upon the quality of their program. Participants felt that there were specific benefits that accreditation serves to highlight. Participants also felt that the future of post-professional athletic training education was uncertain but on the right track.
Patient-centered care (PCC) is a concept characterized by the clinician educating and communicating with the patient in a compassionate manner. The clinician and patient share responsibility in the decision-making process, advocate for injury prevention, and promote a healthy lifestyle. PCC is a component of evidence-based practice (EBP), which has received national attention in the profession of athletic training. PCC is also a recently added core competency to the post-professional athletic training education programs. Objective: To (1) examine program directors' perceptions of new standards; (2) describe the methods in which the program directors emphasize PCC; and (3) explore how the students are learning these concepts. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Self-administered online survey. Participants: Sixteen Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) post-professional athletic training education program directors and the students currently enrolled. Intervention(s): A previously validated survey was utilized to assess usage and opinion of patient-rated outcome measures (PROMs) with questions added to assess the opinion of PCC. Open-ended questions were also added to assess student understanding of the definition of PCC and PROMs as well as how the program directors are implementing the changes. The survey was entered in an online survey database and the program directors were sent an email containing a link to a specific survey. Included in the email was a request that the directors send a list of email addresses for their students. The students were sent a separate link to a specific survey. Main Outcome Measures: The program directors perceptions on the new changes, how they are implementing the changes, students' knowledge on PCC and PROMs, and students are currently implementing this concept. Results: All of the program directors welcomed the curriculum change of emphasizing PCC and stated that they teach their students about PROMs in the classroom. Five themes emerged from the students' answers including: Individualized care centered on the patient's needs, values, goals, and concerns (60.5%); involving the patient in the treatment plan (23.3%); holistic care (16.3%); utilizing EBP and/or PROMs (18.6%); and communicating with and educating patients fully (9.3%). When students were asked about the definition of PROMs, there were four themes that emerged from their answers including: how the patient feels the injury impacts their lives in terms of their health-related quality of life and function in daily life (45.2%); how the patient feels their treatment/intervention is going (33.3%); questionnaire/survey completed by the patient (26.2%); and gives the clinician insight to the patients' perspective (16.7%). Conclusion: Students have a limited understanding of the true definitions of PCC and PROMs. Young clinicians need to be educated on the concept of PCC and how using PROMs apply to PCC in order to enhance EBP in clinical athletic training.
This research was intended to identify and analyze the perceptions of students, faculty and staff members who were involved with an athletic training education site visit to discover their perspectives on the accreditation process.
