Clinical teaching roles of athletic trainers

Abstract

Studies of clinical teaching roles have not appeared in the athletic training literature. The purposes of this study were to: 1) describe clinical teaching roles of Midwest ATCs, and 2) determine the effect of educational preparation on teaching activities and opinions of ATCs. A three-part questionnaire was returned by 154 ATCs (78%) in NATA District 5. The questionnaire included demographic, teaching, and opinion items. More than 50% of the ATCs were teacher-certified and the majority had a master's or higher degree. Most ATCs clinically supervised between one to eight students who received clinical instruction about 20 hours weekly. The ATCs who taught clinically either presented information or directed tasks from five to six Role Delineation Domains. They used three or more teaching methods and six or more audiovisual aids with their presentations. The ATCs saw the importance of clinical education and the responsibility to present clinical information, and expressed positive opinions about academic preparation for clinical teaching. Those with teaching degrees felt more prepared to teach (p<.05) than did nonteachers. Teachers conducted clinical teaching activities similar to nonteachers. We concluded that less experienced athletic trainers feel educationally prepared and enjoy clinical teaching as much as their more experienced peers. The ATCs with a teaching background presented a broader content through more mature teaching methods than did nonteachers. It appeared that adequate preparation for teaching and the attainment of an advanced degree may inspire confidence in clinical teaching. These attributes may become important characteristics to look for when recruiting clinical instructors.