Athletic Training Preceptors' Perceptions of the Characteristics for Contemporary Expertise

Abstract

Context: As a part of the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) 2020 Standards for Accreditation of Professional Athletic Training Programs, all preceptors affiliated with accredited programs must identify an area of contemporary expertise in a routine area of athletic training practice. However, little is known regarding preceptors' perceptions of contemporary expertise. Objective: To explore preceptors' perceptions of the characteristics of contemporary expertise. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Online survey with open-ended questions. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 277 preceptors affiliated with 80 CAATE-accredited professional programs accessed the survey; 259 respondents completed at least 1 open-ended question, and 201 completed the survey in its entirety (77.6% completion rate). Main Outcome Measure(s): We used a 16-item survey including demographic (10 items), Likert-scale (1 item), and open-ended (5 items) questions. Descriptive statistics were conducted to characterize respondent demographics and familiarity with contemporary expertise. Guided by consensual qualitative research, a 3-person data analysis team coded responses from the open-ended questions following a structured, 4-phase progression. An external auditor confirmed accuracy and representation of the findings. Results: Approximately 36% of preceptors reported they were not at all familiar with contemporary expertise. Preceptors identified several defining characteristics (eg, knowledge or skills possessed, clinical practice experience, intentional continuing education, evidence-based practice [EBP]) and parameters (eg, CAATE curricular content standards, Board of Certification domains of practice, areas of specific interest) of contemporary expertise. Additionally, 85% of preceptors discussed how identifying areas of contemporary expertise would improve their practice, while the remaining 15% discussed how it would not. Conclusions: Preceptors affiliated with CAATE-accredited professional programs appear to be largely in favor of developing an area of contemporary expertise and believe it will improve their own clinical practice. More education is needed to acquaint preceptors who are not yet familiar with the notion of contemporary expertise.