ERIC Number: EJ1329044
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1947-380X
EISSN: N/A
Professional Master's Athletic Training Students' Career Influences Part I: Perceptions of Athletic Training
Nokes, Ryan D.; Pitney, William A.; Bowman, Thomas G.; Nottingham, Sara
Athletic Training Education Journal, v17 n1 p53-63 Jan-Mar 2022
Context: As athletic training education transitions to a professional master's degree, understanding the perceptions professional master's athletic training students have of athletic training is important. Objective: To examine second-year professional master's students' perceptions of the athletic training profession, a career in the profession, and identify the factors that influence their perceptions. Design: Convergent mixed methods. Setting: Online surveys and individual phone interviews. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 80 second-year professional master's students (63 female, 13 male, 4 no response, age = 24.63 ± 2.29 years), who were enrolled in the final semester of their program in the spring of 2019, completed the online survey. Ten survey respondents completed the follow-up phone interviews. Data Collection and Analysis: A survey instrument and a semistructured interview guide were developed to answer the research questions. Both were validated externally by 3 independent researchers using a content-validity indexing tool. The data from the survey and interviews were woven together and merged to provide 1 comprehensive results section. Trustworthiness was established using triangulation, member checks, memos, and peer debriefing. Results: Three higher-order themes emerged from the data: (1) perceptions of the athletic training profession: lack of appreciation and awareness for the profession from others, rewarding profession, and dynamic profession; (2) perceptions of a career in athletic training: low pay, long hours and inconsistent schedules, and inability to have work-life balance; (3) factors influencing perceptions: clinical experiences and interactions with athletic trainers. Conclusions: Second-year professional master's athletic training students developed positive and negative perceptions about the profession and a career in the profession during their professional education experiences. The factors identified were professional socializing agents and should be considered when designing clinical education experiences.
Descriptors: Athletics, Training, Masters Programs, Graduate Students, Student Attitudes, Allied Health Occupations, Career Choice, Clinical Experience
National Athletic Trainers' Association. 2952 Stemmons Freeway Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75247. Tel: 214-637-6282; Fax: 214-637-2206; e-mail: ATEdJournal@gmail.com; Web site: https://meridian.allenpress.com/atej
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A