Leadership is Positively Related to Athletic Training Students' Clinical Behaviors

Context: Leadership development by health professionals positively affects patient outcomes.

Objective: To 1) determine if there is any relationship between demonstrated leadership behaviorsandclinical behaviors among entry-level AT students (ATS); 2) to explore if the level of leadership behavior changes between ATS level; and 3) to determine if preceptors and students rate leadership and clinical behaviors differently.

Design: Non-parametric quantitative, non-experimental exploratory.

Setting: Assessments of ATS in an entry level undergraduate AT education program.

Participants: Preceptors and Athletic Training Students.

Main Outcome Measures: Archived AT Student Leadership and Clinical Skills Evaluations (ATSLCSE) were analyzed from 2008 to 2010. After the ATSLCSE was assessed for internal consistency and validity, Spearman rho correlations were use to measure the relationship between leadership and clinical behaviors, Mann-Whitney U tests to measure differences between gender and preceptor and ATS ratings, and Kruskal-Wallistests to assess the differences between ATS levels.

Results: ATSLCSE had satisfactory internal consistency (α = .91), with criterion-related predictive validity established with correlations ranging from r=.61 to .83(p<.01). The data showed a positive relationship between leadership and clinical behaviors(r = .80,P<.01),significant differences in clinical behaviors and demonstrates leadership behaviors between ATS levels (χ²_{(2, N=442)}=24.66, P=<.001 and χ²_{(2, N=442)}=41.00, P=<.001, respectively), that preceptors rated students'clinical behaviors higher than the students rated themselves (U=20924.500, Z=−.2.424, P=.015),and that females had higher attendance than males (U = 21095.000, Z =−2.08, P=.037).

Conclusions: Leadership has a positive relationship to clinical behaviors, with demonstrated behaviors increasing as the ATS progressed through the program. There was also a significant difference between preceptorand student ratings in terms of the students' clinical behaviors. Therefore, educators should consider leadership an important aspect of clinical preparation.