Undergraduate Education Program - Clinical Education
Clinical Preparation
An athletic training student's clinical preparation
is intended to provide each student with exposure to a variety of athletic training
clinical experiences. Students enrolled in USC's undergraduate athletic training
program must complete a minimum of six semesters of specific clinical rotations.
USC offers a variety of clinical rotations including experience with USC men's and
women's athletics, local public & private high schools, small colleges, sports
medicine clinics, military bases, and industrial preventative medicine clinics.
ATS are required to provide their own transportation to all sites.
Required clinical experiences/sites:
Collegiate Football clinical experience
Off-campus experience
Lower Extremity clinical experience
Upper Extremity clinical experience
Clinical Education Requirements
1) Requirements for Clinical Hours
All students enrolled in the USC ATEP must document completed clinical hours every semester.
Students in USC's ATEP are required to document clinical hours despite the mandate from the NATABOC eliminating hours as a requirement for the certification. (Many state and local licensing agencies still require clinical hours for certified athletic trainers). Specific course syllabi requirements may also require documentation of clinical hours.
How to Report Clinical Hours
It is the student's responsibility to record and report all clinical hours.
Clinical hours log sheets, available in Blatt PE Center Room 217, must be signed weekly by the clinical supervisor
Students should make a copy of all clinical hours log sheets. The original copy should be submitted to the Program Director.
Clinical hours log sheets are due prior to the mid-semester break and on the last day of class of each semester.
Clinical hours log sheets are stored in the student's file in the Program Director's office.
Hours That Do Not Count toward USCATEP Requirements
Hours not completed under the direct observation of a USC ACI
Hours spent traveling (team travel, lodging, etc.). However, while traveling, hours spent giving treatment and those spent at the competition and practice sites will count if under the direct supervision of a USC ACI.
Hours spent at clinical sites not affiliated with the USC ATEP.
2) Supervision of Athletic Training Program Students
Athletic training students in the clinical rotations will be exposed to a variety of experiences with different levels of supervision by ACIs. The NATA has defined supervision of students in a way that distinguishes between direct and indirect supervision as follows:
Direct Supervision
When instructing and evaluating clinical proficiencies,
the Approved Clinical Instructor (ACI) must be physically present that includes
“constant visual and auditory interaction”. This insures that ACI can intervene
on behalf of the athlete/patient. When a student is in a direct supervised situation,
he/she can perform any skills in which he/she has been “formally instructed and
formally assessed on athletic training clinical skills as part of a required course
prior to performing those skills on patients” (CAATE, 2005 – Standard F-3).
Unsupervised Experience
There will be times in a clinical experience when an ACI or clinical instructor will not be physically present. If the student is unsupervised, the student's role is restricted to that of “first aider”. As a first aider, the student may:
1) Apply first aid skills (RICE, splinting, activate emergency medical system, CPR)
and/or
2) Conduct a history evaluation to determine need for referral
Students may not make any return-to-activity decisions at any time
3) Clinical Assignments
All students enrolled in the USC ATEP receive a clinical assignment every semester in which they are enrolled in the program. Students on academic probation are not eligible to participate in clinical education rotations (PEDU 392, 393, 492, 493). In order to graduate from the USC ATEP all students must complete a minimum of four semesters of specific clinical experiences. Clinical rotations will be assigned based on the student's ability, professional goals, supervisory input, and exposure to a variety of injury/illness situations. Clinical rotations are available through USC men's & women's athletics, local high schools, sports medicine clinics, and small colleges. Students must provide their own transportation to all clinical sites.
4) Clinical Evaluations/Reports
Athletic training students are evaluated twice every semester by their ACI. Clinical evaluations are course requirements for a variety of athletic training courses. Clinical evaluations provide the student with feedback on performance strengths as well as areas in need of improvement. Clinical evaluations are signed by the ACI, athletic training student, and the program director. A copy of the clinical evaluation is kept in the student's file in the program director's office.
Athletic training students are also required to evaluate their ACI and clinical site every semester. Students are required to complete a clinical report each semester as a part of course requirements for a variety of athletic training courses. A copy of a clinical report rubric can be obtained from the Athletic Training Lab (Blatt PE Center, Room 217) and/or Clinical Coordinator (Blatt PE Center Rm 214).
5) Clinical Competency Requirements
What are the Clinical Competencies/Proficiencies?
Clinical Competencies are the common set of athletic training skills/proficiencies used for curriculum development and education of CAATE-accredited athletic training programs. They also serve as a guide for development of educational experiences leading to NATABOC certification. The competencies identify knowledge and skills to be mastered within an entry-level athletic training education program. USC ATEP clinical competencies are integrated into didactic and clinical courses within the curriculum. The clinical competencies and proficiencies must be signed off by an ACI affiliated with the USC ATEP.
How do I complete Clinical Competencies/Proficiencies?
Athletic training students must complete the checklist of clinical competencies/proficiencies associated with course syllabi.
Students are expected to take an active role in becoming proficient in all clinical skills. The student is responsible for learning the information and practicing the skills required to demonstrate competency in all clinical skills. For example:
Monday – students discusses competency topic with ACI
Tuesday – the ACI demonstrates the competency to the student
Wednesday – the student practices the competency/skill with peers/CI
Thursday – the student attempts to be evaluated
Friday – re-evaluation if necessaryA clinical competency will not be accepted without a date. An excessive amount of clinical competencies signed off on one date will not be accepted. (i.e. ACI's are not required to sign off on more than two competencies/proficiencies per day).
Many clinical competencies are skills that are taught in the athletic training lab classes. Some clinical competencies/proficiencies, however, contain concepts and information from the athletic training lecture classes.
Clinical competency checklists can only be signed by an ACI affiliated with the USC ATEP
See specific course syllabi for exact requirements pertaining to due dates of clinical competencies.
