Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Media Technology

Abstract

Context: Currently, research on workplace readiness (WPR) within athletic training is lacking. Research on transition to practice suggests recent graduates, regardless or discipline, are not adequately prepared for the workplace. Likewise, employers of recent athletic training graduates also an insufficiency of workplace readiness. Objective: Our purpose was to observe employers' rating of newly certified athletic trainers (ATs) using the Work Readiness Scale (WRS) and foundational behaviors of professional practice. Design: Cross-sectional design. Settings: Web-based survey. Participants or other participants: We utilized a mixed model recruitment method consisting of identifying employers and collecting emails from job postings on the National Athletic Trainers' Association Career Center in 2013. We also contacted Post-Professional Athletic Training Program Directors and Head Athletic Trainers at National Collegiate Athletics Association Division 1 institutions to disseminate to supervisors of recent graduates. We used social media (Twitter ® and Facebook ® ) postings as well. These methods resulted in a small, pilot sample of respondents (n=54, 60% completion rate). We excluded anyone who was not supervising a recent graduate (certified for less than one year) for shorter than 3 months or longer than one year. Interventions: No intervention. Main Outcome Measures: We asked supervisors to rate ATs with the WRS (66-item validated questionnaire) and the Foundational Behaviors (FB) of Athletic Trainers (28-items from theEducational Competencies) on an 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0=strongly disagree to 10=strongly agree. Results: Thirty supervisors (30/54=55.6%) completed the WRS. We identified that recently certified athletic trainers scored only slightly above average (7.6±0.6). When we pooled the means for the themed areas within the WRS, supervisors suggested recent graduates were only slight above average for personal characteristics (7.3±2.2), organizational acumen (7.6±1.6), work competence (7.1±1.9) and social intelligence (7.1±2.0). The lowest employer ratings identified in the WRS items are ability to handle stress (6.1± 3.0) and originality/creativity (6.3 ±3.1). The FB resulted in above average performance (7.3±0.6) as reported by the supervisors (54/54=100%). Recent graduates vary in FB performance: primacy of the patient (7.3±1.8), teamed approach to practice (7.3±1.7), legal practice (8.2±1.7), ethical practice (8.1±1.9), advancing knowledge (6.7±2.3), cultural competence (7.9±1.9), and professionalism (7.9±1.9). Employers scored lowest on promoting the value of research and scholarship (7.22 ±2.29). We were unable to find any relationship between the WRS and FB (r=0.046, p=0.81). Conclusions: Employers rate recent hires as competent, with moderate work place readiness and foundational behaviors. Although our sample size is small and requires additional recruitment, our findings are consistent with previous literature suggesting enhanced training or preparation are necessary for entry-level ATs in foundational behaviors and workplace readiness before initial employment. Word Count: 427

Download

Share

COinS