Creating Progressively Autonomous Experiences in Athletic Training Clinical Education

Context Providing progressively autonomous experiences that are appropriate for the level of the student has been shown to provide numerous benefits in clinical education. However, little is known about how preceptors learn to offer progressively autonomous clinical experiences. Objective Explore the experiences of athletic training preceptors in providing athletic training students with a progressively autonomous clinical experience. Design Qualitative study. Setting Online interview. Patient or Other Participants Nineteen participants (age = 32 ± 5 years, men = 7, women = 12, years of experience = 8 ± 5) with an average of 5 years as a preceptor (range, 1–10 years). Data Collection and Analysis We conducted online semistructured interviews (Zoom), which were audio recorded and transcribed. The interview script was designed to investigate preceptor experiences in creating progressively autonomous learning opportunities. A data analysis team of 3 individuals used a multiphase process to create a consensual codebook represented by domains and categories from responses. Trustworthiness and credibility of the consensus codebook were established by member checking, multianalyst triangulation, and auditing. Results Two domains emerged regarding preceptor experiences: (1) Preparation and (2) Implementation. Preparation represented data about how preceptors valued the importance of progressively autonomous experiences as well as how they engaged in personal development as a preceptor to create these experiences. All but 1 of the preceptors indicated that educational programs failed to train them to create progressively autonomous practice experiences. The Implementation domain represented how preceptors were providing progressively autonomous clinical experiences to their students, including step-by-step methods, assessment, and evaluation. Conclusion Progressively autonomous experiences are critical to the development of autonomous clinicians in athletic training practice. Properly providing progressively autonomous clinical experiences prepares students to transition into practice as certified athletic trainers. Preceptors in our study described limited training on creating progressively autonomous experiences with athletic training students.