Clinical Education

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Clinical Education

Faculty

Portfolio Development

Selection Criteria

Policies as PDFs

Academic & Clinical Transfer

Code of Conduct

Emergency Plan

First Responder Policy

How to log in clinical hours

Probation Policy

Student athletic trainer as athlete

Selection Criteria

Technical Standards

Contact Persons:
Reese Barber, MS, ATC, CSCS
Athletic Training Education, Program Director
Glenbrook Gymnasium
Castleton, Vt. 05735
802-468-1289
Reese.Barber@castleton.edu

For more information and application materials, contact:
ADMISSIONS
Wright House
Castleton State College
Castleton, Vermont 05735
(802) 468-1213
info@castleton.edu

Overview of the Clinical Education Experience at Castleton

There are three elements of an athletic training student’s clinical experience. These are the supervised clinical education, the supervised field experience, and the unsupervised field experience.

Supervised Clinical Education includes the acquisition, practice and evaluation of clinical proficiencies by an approved clinical instructor (ACI) through classroom, laboratory and clinical education experiences. Direct supervision involves constant auditory and visual interaction between the student and ACI.

The Supervised Field Experience is when a program clinical instructor (CI), or another approved health care professional is physically present and can intervene on behalf of the athlete. This means that the CI should have both auditory and visual contact with the student. When in a supervised field experience, the student will perform any and all skills that have been taught, practiced, evaluated and successfully completed. Supervised field experiences at Castleton include assignments with CSC athletic teams, internship experiences at local high schools and colleges, and a general medical rotation.

The Unsupervised Field Experience is one in which a program CI is NOT physically present to intervene on behalf of the athlete. This would include practice situations where no CI is present, as well as unsupervised travel. When in this situation, a student is restricted to the role of a first responder as defined by the NATA. Please review the First Aide Provider Policy located in this handbook for further definition of your potential role as a first responder.

The NATA Education Council provides CAATE-accredited athletic training education programs with a document called “Athletic Training Educational Competencies”. Programs must use this document when structuring the didactic and clinical education experience for students. The cognitive and psychomotor competencies, the clinical proficiencies, and the foundational behaviors of professional practice described in the 4th edition of this document must be integrated into accredited programs by the 2007-2008 academic year.

The CSC Athletic Training Education Program Student Handbook provides the new clinical education guidelines and explains the CSC plan for teaching, assessing, and documenting clinical competencies and proficiencies. It is distributed to athletic training students (ATS) upon their acceptance into the athletic training education program (ATEP).

Learning Over Time (Mastery of Skills):

The process by which professional knowledge and skills are learned and evaluated. This process involves the initial formal instruction and evaluation of that knowledge and skill, followed by a time of sufficient length to allow for practice and internalization of the information/skill, and then subsequent re-evaluation of that information/skill in a clinical (actual or simulated) setting (CAATE Clinical Education Terminology).

Learning Over Time at CSC:

The athletic training program at Castleton will use the following components for teaching, evaluating, and documenting clinical education: 1st Check Off, 2nd Check Off, Field Experience, Mock NATABOC examination, and Portfolio development. Each component is further explained below.

Supervised Clinical Education 1st and 2nd Check Off

1st Check off:
Cognitive and Psychomotor competencies are formally taught within the didactic courses. A complete list of didactic courses included in the ATEP can be found in the college catalog, or in the ATEP Student Handbook under “ATEP Academic Plan”. Once the student passes an AT course, he/she can then use the learned skills within the clinical field experience under the supervision of a clinical instructor (CI).

Those AT courses that have a significant amount of psychomotor skill development built into the course have a lab or “hands on” component in which the student can practice learned skills. Students must receive a B- or better grade in each course listed below. If the student does not receive a B- in these courses, he/she must retake the course and will not be allowed to use the learned skills in the field experience assignment until the required course grade is achieved.

Introduction to the Athletic Training Profession
Anatomical Aspects of Sports Medicine
Emergency Care and Personal Safety
Evaluation and Mgmt of Injuries- Lower
Evaluation and Mgmt of Injuries- Upper
Rehabilitation of Orthopedic Injuries
Therapeutic Modalities
Admin of A.T. and Sports Med Programs
Evaluation and Mgmt of Injuries- Head, Neck and Trunk
Pharmacology and General Medical Conditions
Advanced Athletic Training

2nd Check off:
The 2nd Check Off will occur in each of the five clinical courses. An ACI will be assigned to recheck proficiencies learned in previous coursework. The purpose of the 2nd check off is to place the student in a clinical experience where the proficiency is synthesized and integrated into a decision-making environment. A 2nd Check Off ensures that the student has mastered the particular skills that have been assessed.

Supervised Field experience
The field experience is where experiential learning occurs. Students are assigned to upper extremity intensive, lower extremity intensive, equipment intensive sports, and general medical experiences. Skills that are learned during clinical education are REFINED and APPLIED here. Note: An athletic training student shall NOT perform any skills in the field experience UNTIL the 1st check off of the skills has been completed.

Mock NATABOC examination
A mock NATABOC examination is given in the Advanced Athletic Training Course during the fall semester of the senior year, and again in the spring semester of the senior year as a requirement of Clinical 5.

Portfolio
The portfolio includes artifacts (samples of work) that demonstrate your progress throughout the educational experience and provide evidence of your competency and proficiency as you progress through the athletic training education program and into the profession of athletic training. It will be assessed by the Clinical Coordinator each semester and graded as an assignment in each of the five clinical courses.