The Roles and Relationship
Between Classroom and Clinical
Teaching to the New
Educational Standards
Neil Curtis, EdD, ATC
Department of Sports Medicine
West Chester University
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Objective
• To help reshape our current
educational theories and integrate them
into the new educational standards
proposed by the NATA Educational
Council and the CAAHEP’s Joint
Review Committee- Athletic Training
(JRC-AT)
Background
Current practice:
• 800 clinical hour requirement
• Various clinical environments
• Meet JRC-AT standards
• Meet NATABOC requirements
Influences on Education
• NATA Athletic Training Educational
Competencies (3rd edition)
– Guide for course structure and content
• Athletic Training Clinical Proficiencies
– Included in competencies
– The proficiencies can be downloaded from the
web (www.cewl.com)
Influences on Education
Clinical Education Guidelines (ClinEdGs)*:
• Qualitative system (not counting hours)
• Clinical performance expectations (outcomes
must be measurable and documented over time)
• Evaluated by Approved Clinical Instructor
(ACI)
Influences on Education
Clinical Education Guidelines (ClinEdGs)*:
• Two academic years (minimum)
• Taught, practiced and evaluated over time
• Students assigned to ACI
*See www.cewl.com for Buxton and Foreman’s 1999 Kansas
City clinical education presentation
Influences on Education
JRC-AT proposed standards and guidelines
related to clinical education:
• Incorporation of the ACI and clinical
supervisor
• Changes in clinical instruction sites and
format
• Outcome assessment changes
Influences on Education
• NATA Board of Certification, Inc.*– 800 hour clinical experience requirement ^
^ Ed Council has proposed deleting the 800 hour
requirement
– Minimum of two academic years^^
^^ Ed Council (and JRC-AT draft 2) also requires
minimum of 2 academic years (4 semesters, 6
quarters)
*From NATABOC.ORG web page 6/19/00
Influences on Education
• NATA Board of Certification, Inc.– Role Delineation (RD) Study, 4th ed.**:
• Used to construct the certification examination
**The NATA Athletic Training Educational
Competencies describes educational content; the
RD is the testing blueprint. The RD is covered in the
competencies
Roles
• Athletic Training Program Director
• Clinical Education Coordinator
• Athletic Training Faculty
– Classroom and Laboratory
Roles
•
•
•
•
•
On-campus ACI
Off-campus ACI
Non-ATC instructors (not ACI)
Clinical supervisor (not ACI)
Athletic training students
Program Director
• Draft 2: I.B.1.a.(1) (a)- “accountability… of
all aspects of the athletic training
educational program.”
• Draft 2: I.B.1.a.(1) (b)- “appropriate
experience … in the clinical supervision of
student athletic trainers. …Minimum of
three years experience as an NATABOC
certified athletic trainer.”
Clinical Education Coordinator
• ClinEdGs - Clinical Instructor Educator
(CIE) will teach course to prepare
Approved Clinical Instructors (ACI)
• JRC-AT - director of clinical education is
an option, not a requirement
• Often the program director
Clinical Education Coordinator
• Duties typically include:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Assigning student’s clinical experiences
Evaluating and visiting affiliated sites
Recruiting new affiliated sites
Contact person for clinical instructors
Clinical Instructor education
etc.
Athletic Training Faculty
Classroom and Laboratory
• Draft 2: Faculty- I.B.1.b.(a)- “… must be
familiar with the ‘NATA competencies…’”
• ClinEdGs- “students are permitted to develop
[psychomotor] proficiency within adjunct
affiliated professional clinical sites (e.g….
Exercise physiology lab) during clinical
education course… In this situation the
supervisor need not possess an ACI.”
Approved Clinical Instructor (ACI)
• Draft 2: I.B.1.c (1) (a)- “…provides formal
instruction and/or evaluation of students in
the clinical proficiencies... (b)- “...ACI must
perform ... instruction and evaluation at
some point during the educational
experience. Evaluation of the proficiency
must by done in a one on one basis.”
Approved Clinical Instructor
(ACI)
• ClinEdGs– “An ACI … should supervise the students’
clinical education.”
– “Supervision of students by the ACI should
be through constant visual and auditory
interaction between the student and the
ACI.”
Approved Clinical Instructor
(ACI)
• ClinEdGs– “Students should be assigned to an ACI, not
to facilities and sports.”
– “The daily supervision by the ACI must
include multiple opportunities for evaluation
and feedback between the student and ACI.”
Clinical Supervisor
(Field Experiences)
• Draft 2: I.B.1.c (2) (a)- “…shall provide
direct supervision in the athletic training
and other health care during the field
experiences… should have a minimum of
one year of working experience…”
Clinical Supervisor
(Field Experiences)
• Draft 2: I.B.1.c (2) (b)- … in the traditional
experience shall be a [NATABOC] certified
athletic trainer… In other … settings, …
duly authorized to practice in their
respective area.”
Clinical Supervision
• NATABOC- supervision involves daily
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 experience. The supervising certified
athletic trainer must be physically present in order
to intervene on behalf of the individual being
treated.
Clinical Experience
• Draft 2 : Curriculum- II.B.1.e.- “… Provision for
clinical experiences under the direct supervision of
a qualified clinical instructor in an acceptable
clinical setting…
[guideline] close cooperation between the
program director and the clinical instruction staff
will be necessary for effective planning and
implementation of student clinical experience”
Clinical Experience
• Draft 2: Curriculum- II.B.1.f- “a minimum
of two academic years… with course credit
must be obtained. The clinical setting must
include the athletic training room(s),
athletic practices, and competitive events
for a minimum of one of the two academic
years…”
Clinical Experience
• Draft 2: Curriculum- II.B.1.g- “ supervised
clinical experiences must involve daily personal
contact and supervision between the clinical
instructor and the student in the same clinical
setting.”
• Draft 2: Curriculum- II.B.1.h- “An effective ratio
of students to clinical instructors must be
maintained.”
Clinical Experience
• Draft 2: Curriculum- II.B.2.a, b, c “documents appropriate learning
experiences and curriculum sequencing to
develop the competencies… provides a
logical progression. Includes clearly
written course syllabi that describe learning
objectives and competencies to be
achieved…”
Clinical Experience
• Draft 2 : Curriculum- Instructional PlanII.B.2.d- “documents frequent evaluation...
[Guideline]- An ACI should instruct the
clinical proficiencies and pyschomotor
skills… each instructor should be provided
with tools to evaluate the acquisition of
skills and proficiencies in a consistent
manner”
Non-ATC Instructors??
• ClinEdGs- “students are permitted to
develop [psychomotor] proficiency within
adjunct affiliated professional clinical sites
(e.g…. exercise physiology lab) during
clinical education course… In this situation
the supervisor need not possess an ACI.”
Non-ATC Instructors??
• Draft 2 : Instructional Staff- I.B.1.c (1) (b)“...ACI must perform psychomotor and/or
clinical proficiency instruction and
evaluation...”
• ClinEdGs- “students are permitted to develop
proficiency within adjunct … clinical sites
(e.g…. Exercise physiology lab) during
clinical education course… In this situation the
supervisor need not possess an ACI.”
Relationships/Communication
AT Program Director
Faculty
Clin Ed Coord
On-Campus ACIs and/or
Clinical Supervisors
Athletic Training Students
Non-ATC Instructors
Off-Campus ACIs and/or
Clinical Supervisors
Communication
• What should clinical instructors expect
athletic training students to know?
• What should clinical instructors be expected
to teach?
• What documentation is needed?
Communication
• Draft 2 : Program Evaluation- I.E.2.c - “…
must document that the didactic and clinical
educational achievements of its students are
verifiable and assessed in consistent ways.
[Guideline] …documentation of academic and
clinical progression… The proficiencies should be
evaluated during program completion via
standardized evaluation methods.”
Communication
• DRAFT 2 : Instructional Plan- II.B.2.d “documents frequent evaluation...
[Guideline]- ...Each instructor should be provided
with tools to evaluate the acquisition of skills and
proficiencies in a consistent manner”
• DRAFT 2 : Instructional Plan- II.B.2.c - “...
clearly written course syllabi that describe
learning objectives and competencies to be
achieved…”
Communication
• Athletic training classroom faculty and
clinical instructors are the same?
• Athletic training classroom faculty and
clinical instructors are not the same?
– On-campus ACIs?
– Off-campus ACIs?
Communication
• Related classroom faculty and non-ATC
clinical educators
– Draft 2 : I.B.1.b.(a)- “… must be familiar
with the ‘NATA competencies…’”
• How do you familiarize the 5 faculty members
(including 3 part-timers) teaching the Nutrition
101 course with the NATA competencies?
Psychology 101? Anatomy 101?
Questions?