Objective: This study examined the role orientation hierarchy among teaching, research, service, and administrative responsibilities of certified athletic trainers (ATCs) employed at the collegiate level.

Design and Setting: Four single response role orientation questions regarding their actual, ideal, promoted, and most appropriate role orientations were asked as part of a 45 question role complexity internet survey sent to 1,000 randomly selected collegiate ATCs.

Subjects: Twenty-nine potential respondents were eliminated from the random sample after administration of the survey due to partial responses and missing data, illness, vacation and job changes. Therefore, out of 971 potential respondents, 348 usable responses were received for a 36% response rate.

Measurements: Emphasizing or de-emphasizing each element of responsibility created sixteen different role orientation hierarchies involving teaching, service, research, and administration. Respondents chose one hierarchy to answer each of four questions about their actual, ideal, supervisor recommended, and feelings regarding the most appropriate role orientations for themselves and the profession.

Results: Study participants report that service responsibilities were significant aspects of their job. Research was deemed as an important, appropriate, and promoted role orientation, but was not often reported as an actual role orientation. Actual role orientation hierarchies were closely aligned with supervisor expectations, with the exception of research, which was promoted more than it was performed.

Conclusions: Collegiate ATCs view service responsibilities as important aspects of their job regardless of their job description, but are not performing research as much as they and their employers feel is important and appropriate for the profession.

Objective: To present a model for an educational continuum that identifies entry-level to advance practice competencies and content for athletic training education.

Background: Specific degree-level purposes within the context of higher education, in conjunction with professional needs should be addressed in athletic training education. Post-certification (graduate) programs in athletic training should offer increased depth of knowledge and prepare students as clinical experts, scholars, and leaders. To this end, curricular content, based on the athletic training job analysis (i.e., Role Delineation Study), institutional missions, and degree-level specific purposes need to be considered.

Description: Graduate athletic training education programs are primarily left to the purview of individual institutions. Using existing curricular development models (i.e., DACUM model and participatory approach) and predictive methods (i.e., Delphi Technique) within the context of higher education, athletic training educators can identify specific competencies and associated content. Then educators can determine the levels of importance of those competencies and content according to the types of athletic training education.

Clinical advantages: The proposed framework does not violate institutional and faculty autonomy, but helps to delineate important content for development in graduate athletic training education.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine if topics related to spirituality were being addressed in the curricula of athletic training education programs (ATEPs) and to investigate whether program directors (PDs) believed this to be a topic worthy of inclusion in ATEP experiences.

Design and Setting: A descriptive mixed method study using a web-based survey.

Subjects: The sample consisted of 291 PDs from accredited undergraduate ATEPs in the United States.

Measurements: The items measured included participants' institutional affiliation, years of experience and educational background, perceptions on the propriety of including spiritual topics in ATEP curricula, and general awareness of the literature surrounding spirituality and health.

Results: One hundred ten (79.7%) colleges/universities offered a course in spirituality outside the ATEP curriculum, but only 5 (3.6%) colleges/universities currently offered a course in the ATEP curriculum in which spirituality was the main focus. W e found that 89% of PDs believed there was a connection between spirituality and health/healing. Also, 69% agreed that spirituality should be addressed in a variety of ways within ATEPs. Forty seven percent agreed that it was appropriate to address spirituality with patients. Fourteen percent also reported that spirituality should be incorporated in the athletic training competencies and proficiencies.

Conclusions: These data suggest that the majority of PDs believe there is a connection between spirituality and health/healing, and that spirituality should be addressed in a variety of ways in ATEPs.

The following is a brief review of selected topics discussed on the Athletic Training Education listserv. It is not necessary to be a member of this listserv to access the archived messages and discussions. To view this listserv, to go http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/athletic_training_education. To post messages you must join the listserv.

Our charge is to monitor education related journals (i.e. Journal of Nursing Education, Journal of Higher Education, etc.) and identify articles which are the most applicable to our readers. We will provide brief synopses of the articles plus potential applications to AT education. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions, comments, suggestions for this reoccurring feature, or if you would like to review an article that you feel is particularly applicable to athletic training educators. I would also like to hear about implementations you have made from the concepts we present in this feature. – cm