Clinical Education

Clinical Education Experience:

This experience provides an opportunity for integration of the psychomotor, cognitive and affective skills, and clinical proficiencies within the context of direct patient care. You will participate in clinical education on almost a daily basis while enrolled in the program. Athletic Training competencies and skills will be taught and practiced in the lecture courses of the curriculum. You will have formal clinical education once per week in which the clinical proficiency skills will be instructed, demonstrated, practiced, and evaluated.

Field Experience:

Field experience provides the student with the opportunity for informal learning and to practice and apply the Entry Level Athletic Training Clinical Proficiencies in a clinical environment under the supervision of a clinical instructor or ACI. The primary settings for field experiences include the athletic training rooms, athletic practices, and competitive events at an affiliate clinical site. Ample opportunity will be provided for supervised student experience working with athletic practices and competitive events in both men's and women's sports. There will be exposure to upper extremity, lower extremity, equipment intensive, and general medical experiences of both genders.

Clinical Assignments

Students will be assigned to a different Clinical Instructor (CI) each semester. Students will also be assigned a field experience site that corresponds with the CI’s athletic coverage responsibility. Field experience assignments are in compliance with accreditation standards and assure that each student will receive the required clinical exposures in the following categories: upper extremity, lower extremity, equipment intensive, and general medical. Field experience assignments are made through a selection committee consisting of the Program Director and Clinical Instructors. Selections are based on the appropriate fit between the student and the instructor (to ensure a quality educational experience) as well as based on the clinical exposure requirements.

Breakdown of Clinical Instruction by Level

Level I Athletic Training Student Directed Observation (Pre-Professional Phase) and Admission to School of Education

This phase must be completed prior to admission to the Professional Phase of the Athletic Training Education Program. Clinical instruction and experiences are provided to the students by being assigned to a variety of observations throughout the semester. A Certified Athletic Trainer will supervise the directed observation. Level I students will be given a schedule, or rotation assignment, during the prerequisite course HSES 351 Foundations of Athletic Training. A total of 10 hours per week of observation must be accumulated and approved by the supervising Certified Athletic Trainer. Students will complete the assigned clinical proficiencies and competencies that relate to this level of the program.

Level II Athletic Training Student – Professional Phase, Junior Year

Clinical instruction will include skills and proficiencies pertaining to 1) assessment and evaluation techniques and 2) management and treatment techniques used in Athletic Training. Clinical experiences will include involvement and utilization of acquired and related skills in the Athletic Training room as well as at practices and competitive athletic events of specific sport field experiences. Level II students will attend clinical education at one of our affiliated clinical sites. This may include an off-campus rotation in which it is the student’s responsibility to arrange for transportation to and from the clinical/field experience site. Students will be exposed to sports in their clinical experiences that will relate to injuries to the upper and lower extremities. Students will also gain experience with athletic teams that use protective equipment as well as gender specific sports. Athletic Training Students will also have an opportunity to learn from orthopedic and general medicine physicians during observations of examinations during weekly scheduled Athletic Training room visits. Students may also participate in short rotations at local physician offices observing and learning about various general medical conditions and orthopedic injuries. Specific skills introduced and instructed in the clinical portions of the first year of the Professional Phase are listed with the specific course outcomes in course syllabi for HSES 581 Athletic Training Practicum I: Recognition and Evaluation and HSES 582 Athletic Training Practicum II: Management and Treatment. Students are required to comply with all course requirements as stated on the course syllabus.

Level III Athletic Training Student – Professional Phase, Senior Year

Clinical instruction for Level III students includes instruction and practical experiences in the clinical proficiencies and psychomotor competencies in the areas of 1) therapeutic exercise and rehabilitation and 2) organization and administration techniques of Athletic Training. Level III students will also participate in clinical education at one of our affiliated clinical sites. This may include an off-campus rotation in which it is the student’s responsibility to arrange for transportation to and from the clinical/field experience site. The clinical experiences for the Fall term relate to the instruction and application of therapeutic exercise for the rehabilitation and reconditioning of physically active individuals to return of his/her activity. Students will also participate in clinical rotations to local physical therapy clinics to observe and learn about therapeutic exercise from other allied health professionals. The last semester in the curriculum is dedicated to the refinement of the learned clinical proficiencies and techniques used in Athletic Training. The clinical experience for this semester is designed to allow the Senior Student Athletic Trainer an opportunity to apply the previously learned techniques under the guidance and supervision of a Certified Athletic Trainer. The Senior student is given more responsibility and freedom in decision-making regarding the health care of an athletic team. Specific clinical outcomes are listed in the course syllabi for HSES 583 Athletic Training Practicum III: Rehabilitation Techniques of Athletic Training and HSES 584 Athletic Training Practicum IV: Senior Sport Experience. Students are required to comply with all course requirements as stated on the course syllabus.