Athletic Trainers' Perceptions on the Adequacy of their Professional Education

The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) requires all accredited Professional Athletic Training Education Programs, masters and baccalaureate, to teach and assess each competency found in the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) Athletic Training Educational Competencies. Through this requirement, it is evident that the competencies are being taught in the professional ATEPs. However, there is a gap in the literature addressing athletic trainers' perceptions about their academic preparation. This study surveyed entry-level athletic trainers to ascertain their perceptions on how well their professional ATEP prepared them to enter the profession. Self-perceptions were acquired from graduates of professional masters and baccalaureate programs across each of the 12 content areas identified in the 4th edition of the NATA Athletic Training Educational Competencies.;To address the purpose of this study, a survey instrument was created. This instrument used competencies from the 4th edition of the NATA Athletic Training Educational Competencies to create 12 scales consisting of four to six items each. One-thousand entry-level athletic trainers were invited to participate in the study. With an initial response rate of 26.8%, usable data was identified for 182 respondents. This sample included graduates from professional masters and professional baccalaureate ATEPs. The web based survey was administered via Qualtrics and data were analyzed with SPSS.;A non-experimental design with a 2x12 between-within repeated measures ANOVA was used in this study. No main effect was observed from the independent grouping variable. Respondents from professional masters programs did not perceive their education differently than respondents from professional baccalaureate programs. A main effect was observed for the within groups factor. There was a statistically significant difference observed between the 12 content areas. A post hoc analysis revealed several significant differences within the 12 content areas. On average, academic preparation was perceived as adequate in all 12 content areas. However, perceptions on the Pharmacology content area were rated significantly lower than each of the other 11 content areas.;This study examined perceptions related to the 4th edition of the NATA Athletic Training Educational Competencies. However, while this study was being completed, the NATA published the 5th edition of the competencies. Future research should utilize the newest version of the competencies as a frame work to address athletic trainers' perceptions on the adequacy of their professional education.