Longitudinal Examination of Transition to Practice for Graduates of Professional Master's Programs: Socializing Factors

Abstract

Context Transition to practice is a current topic in athletic training and needs to be explored from a longitudinal perspective. Many athletic training programs and employing organizations are supporting transition to practice, yet little is known about the most common methods. Moreover, transition to practice is an ongoing process that can persist up to a year while current literature draws from snapshots. Objective Longitudinally explore the educational and organizational socialization practices used to support transition to practice. Design Qualitative study. Setting Nine higher education institutions. Patients or Other Participants Fourteen athletic training students (7 male, 7 female, age = 26 ± 4 years) participated. Data Collection and Analysis Participants completed semistructured interviews over the phone 3 times over the course of a 15-month period (before graduation, 4–6 months, and 10–12 months during their first job). All transcribed interviews were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Member checks, multiple analyst triangulation, and peer review were used to ensure trustworthiness. Results Two main educational mechanisms were found to support transition to practice; they included (1) mentorship and (2) past experience. Three main organizational mechanisms were identified to support transition to practice: (1) mentorship, (2) orientation to the job, and (3) living the job. Conclusions A blend of educational and organizational mechanisms is necessary to help support newly credentialed athletic trainers as they transition into clinical practice. Mentorship is important throughout the process, before and after newly credentialed athletic trainers enter their professional role.