Clinical Education Coordinators' Selection and Deselection Criteria of Clinical Education Experiences

Abstract

Context Athletic training students have identified clinical education as the most important aspect of their education when transitioning to practice. However, athletic training students have been frustrated with a lack of engagement, mentorship, and diversity within their clinical education experiences. As such, the selection and deselection of clinical sites is critical to creating effective learning experiences. Objective To explore how clinical education coordinators (CECs) select and deselect clinical education experiences (sites and preceptors) for clinical integration and immersion. Design Consensual qualitative research. Setting Individual teleconference interviews. Patients or Other Participants Thirteen CECs (age = 42 ± 8 years, experience in current role = 8 ± 8 years) from accredited professional master's programs who were in their position for at least 1 year and had at least 1 immersive rotation. Data Collection and Analysis All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. A 3-person data analysis team used a multiphase process to identify the emerging domains and categories. Trustworthiness was established through member checking, multiple researcher triangulation, and auditing. Results Two themes emerged from the participant responses: accreditation compliance and strategic choices. We found participants expressed the theme of accreditation compliance as a major facilitator when selecting or deselecting clinical education placements. Strategic choices, such as student aspirations and focus on the quantity over the quality, were used by CECs to select clinical education placements which develop student autonomy and provide diverse experiences. However, the CECs engaged in convenient preceptor selection based on geographical location and previous relationships. Conclusion(s) Our findings suggest CECs leverage convenient clinical education opportunities that comply with accreditation expectations. CECs should be strategically selecting clinical education opportunities that move beyond accreditation minimum standards and focus on high-quality experiential learning, which leads to autonomous practice and embraces the diversity of the profession.