Professional Socialization and Development Needs of Coordinators of Clinical Education

Context Coordinators of clinical education (CCEs) play a vital role in ensuring effective clinical education experiences, including developing and maintaining clinical affiliation agreements, developing preceptors, evaluating students, preceptors, and clinical education sites, and managing conflict. However, CCEs are often not formally trained for the role. The purpose of this study was to understand the processes used to socialize CCEs and to identify professional development needs. Methods All 291 CCEs of accredited athletic training programs were purposively recruited through direct e-mails, and 132 CCEs participated in this cross-sectional online survey. The survey consisted of 4 sections: (1) demographics, (2) role induction (RI), (3) usefulness of RI (URI), and (4) socialization needs (SN). For RI, participants identified items that were included in the orientation into their roles (eg, overview of duties, resources provided). For URI, participants identified how useful each orientation tactic was. For SN, participants identified how helpful they would find topics if they were included in a formal CCE development workshop. A panel of experts established content validity of the survey, and it was piloted with 8 CCEs. Reliability was established via Cronbach α = 0.86. Results Common RI tactics were receiving contact information for current preceptors, overview of the duties as CCE, and review of clinical education documentation. All tactics included in RI were rated at least moderately useful . Topics that would be helpful as part of CCE training include assessing clinical skill development, analyzing clinical data, and navigating difficult conversations and conflict. Conclusion(s) Many tactics are used to socialize CCEs into their administrative roles, but orientations vary based on the institution. Providing CCEs clear direction could lead to better student outcomes and overall job satisfaction. Therefore, programs should develop detailed onboarding for their CCEs specific to their roles within the program and institution.