The Athletic Training Student as a Core Member of an Interprofessional Student-Led Clinic: An Educational Technique

Abstract

Context Athletic trainers (ATs) collaborate with other professionals to improve the health and well-being of their patients. To prepare ATs to care for individuals, communities, and populations, it is important for athletic training students to experience interprofessional (IP) education, social determinants of health (SDOH), and varying health conditions, in a variety of practice settings. Objective To describe an educational technique that provides athletic training students with an IP experience at a student-led clinic. Background Athletic trainers care for clients/patients who have limited resources for health care and personal needs. To care for these individuals, ATs must have collaborative practices that engage them with parents/guardians, school-based social workers, and nurses through a variety of settings, including free/low-cost clinics and social services. A purposeful educational strategy that provides direct clinical experiences using IP education and IP practice to address SDOH in multiple settings is important in preparing future health care providers. Student-led IP clinics provide community-based teaching and learning to prepare students for clinical practice. Description First-year graduate-level athletic training students enrolled in clinical courses participated in this educational technique. A clinical experience provided students the unique opportunity to learn and apply IP practice with students and faculty in multiple academic programs (undergraduate and graduate nursing, undergraduate public health, undergraduate and graduate social work) while caring for underserved individuals and communities in the rural Midwest region. Clinical Advantages This educational strategy positively impacts the community, students, faculty, academic programs, and the university. Participation in community-based IP student-led clinics prepares athletic training students to care for a variety of individuals, populations, and health conditions through a collaborative approach. This approach also addresses gaps in health care delivery, particularly among underserved groups with varying SDOH, while introducing students to practice settings they may not have considered previously. Conclusions Incorporating the athletic training student into an IP student-led clinic provides unique learning opportunities for students to care for underserved individuals, populations, and communities, preparing them to provide whole-person care as clinicians.