Athletic Training Student Socialization Part I: Socializing Students in Undergraduate Athletic Training Programs

Context Professional socialization is a key process in the professional development of athletic training students. The published athletic training education research has focused on many perspectives regarding socialization; however, it has yet to investigate the program director's (PD's) opinion. Objective To gain insights from the PD on methods used to socialize students into the athletic training program and profession. Design Qualitative study. Setting One-on-one telephone interviews. Patients or Other Participants A total of 16 PDs at accredited undergraduate athletic training programs volunteered for our study. Our participants had, on average, 6 ± 4 years of experience in the role of the PD, and they were 44 ± 8 years old. Data Collection and Analysis We conducted one-on-one phone interviews, which we transcribed verbatim. We performed a general inductive analysis of the data and completed member checks, multiple analyst triangulation, and peer review to establish data and methodological credibility. Results Two major themes emerged regarding the socialization process used by athletic training programs: formal and informal processes. The formal processes can be categorized into 5 distinctive methods, including (1) an introductory course to athletic training that often includes observation hours, (2) orientation sessions, (3) student handbooks, (4) athletic training student club activities, and (5) organized peer mentoring programs. The informal processes can be classified by 2 distinct practices: (1) social outings and (2) mentoring or peer groups. Conclusions The use of formal training sessions emerged as a popular method with which to socialize athletic training students into their impending role, particularly because these sessions allow for effective communication regarding program expectations and methods with which to be successful. In addition, an opportunity to gain a realistic impression of the role of the athletic trainer is necessary for successful role inductance and again permeates all aspects of athletic training.