DescriptionThe student's clinical experience is composed of two elements: Clinical Education and Field Experience. The clinical education component involves the acquisition and practice of clinical skills. The field experience provides the student with the opportunity to apply these skills in the clinical environment (i.e., the athletic training room, practice game coverage). Both educational experiences will be supervised by a qualified Approved Clinical Instructor (ACI) or Clinical lnstructor (CI).
Clinical Education SupervisionAn ACI or a CI, as defined in the subsequent section, will at all times supervise the students' clinical education.
"Supervision" of students by the ACI or CI is defined in our program as, “constant visual and auditory interaction between the student and the approved clinical instructor". Students are assigned to an instructor, not to facilities or sports.
The daily supervision of students by the ACI/CI allows for multiple opportunities for evaluation and feedback between the student and approved clinical instructor. Students are permitted to develop proficiency within adjunct affiliated professional clinical sites (e.g., hospital emergency rooms, clinics, exercise physiology labs) during the clinical education course or experience. These experiences, however, do not comprise the majority of the student's clinical experience.
Lee University Approved Clinical Instructors and Clinical Instructors change periodically and are currently listed on our
academic administrative structure (Appendix A). Training for ACI's occurs every three years; however, yearly group meetings will ensure adequate communication toward ongoing program improvement.
Field Experience Overview
The primary settings for the students' clinical education and field experiences should include athletic training room(s), athletic team practices, and competitive events. The athletic training room is considered to be “a designated physical facility where comprehensive health care services are provided." Comprehensive health care services include practice and game preparation, injury/illness evaluation, first aid and emergency care, follow-up care, rehabilitation, and related services.
Ample opportunity is provided for student coverage of athletic practices and competitive events in a variety of men's and women's sports, including high-risk sport activities. These experiences also include adequate opportunities for observation of, and involvement in, the immediate management and emergency care of a variety of acute athletic injuries and illnesses. Practitioner competencies should provide the basis for deriving the objectives and activities constituting the program's curriculum. Both program competencies and curriculum objectives should be consistent with the stated level of practitioner preparation. The level is delineated in the program's goals and objectives statements and encompasses the knowledge, skill, and behavior expected of graduates upon entry into the field.
Supervised field experiences involve personal/verbal contact at the site of supervision between the athletic training student and the certified athletic trainer, who plans, directs, advises, and evaluates the student's athletic training field experience. The supervising certified athletic trainer is always on-site where the athletic training experience is being obtained.
Clinical supervisors are readily accessible to students for on-going feedback and guidance on a daily basis. Certified athletic trainers who are supervising athletic training students' experiences shall afford supervision adequate to assure (following stated written and verbal direction) that the student performs his or her tasks in a manner consistent with the Standards of Practice of the profession of Athletic Training.
The student's clinical education course, field experiences, or a combination of the two should provide exposure of the student to specific populations, establishing adequate learning environments.
The Athletic Training Educational Competencies abide by the
Standards for the Accreditation of Entry-Level Educational Programs for the Athletic Trainer (CAATE). Standards can be found in
Appendix O.
Our clinical education plan seeks to foster learning over time. Repetition is a key component in the learning process. A sampling of psychomotor skills and a comprehensive review of clinical proficiencies are provided in the
Clinical Proficiency (CP) Profile pages to follow. The CP signature pages represent a snapshot of the intended courses in which a student will be evaluated initially, and then again, on each psychomotor skill and CP.