You may count supervised clinical hours worked in the following settings:
Supervision involves "constant visual and auditory interaction between the student and the approved clinical instructor at the site of supervision between the athletic training student and the ACI" who instructs, supervises and assesses the student's clinical experience." The ACI MUST be recognized as a clinical supervisor for the Minnesota State University Athletic Training Education Program. The supervising ACI MUST be on–site where the athletic training experience hours are being obtained and must be able to immediately intervene on the patients behalf. This is in accordance with the BOC, and with CAATE's "Standards for an Accredited Educational Program for the Athletic Trainer," and is a part of the students educational experience in accordance the "Minnesota Athletic Trainer's Act."
The following will not count as "supervised clinical experience" and should not be recorded as such by the student athletic trainer:
It is your responsibility to properly record and, at the end of each two week period, total your hours on the form provided to you by the Program Director or Clinical Coordinator. You may only record those hours that meet the above qualifications, and you may only record hours for which you worked. You must sign/date and have your ACI or CI sign/date your bi–weekly hour reporting sheet. Any discrepancies may subject the student to sanctions described in the Athletic Training Student Contract of Understanding. (see this manual) Recorded hours must be broken up into the specific site categories defined on the recording form. All addition should be re–checked, and will be verified by the Program Director or Clinical Coordinator.
Failure to properly record may result in those hours not counting toward your grade. The Bi–Weekly Clinical hour recording sheets are always due to the Clinical Coordinator within five (5) business days following the end of the two week period (every other Friday). Please see attached example of recording form on the following page.
The athletic training Board of Certification (BOC) requirements, as well as the
To be eligible to take the board examination, the BOC requires candidates to have graduated from a CAATE accredited athletic training program. As such, you are required to complete all didactic and clinical requirements of the program which includes the four clinical techniques courses (HP 346, 347, 484, 485). Requirements for these courses include clinical experiences under the direct supervision of a program Approved Clinical Instructor (ACI) or Clinical Instructor (CI) while gaining clinical experience "with a variety of different populations including genders, varying levels of risk, protective equipment (to minimally include helmets and shoulder pads), and medical experiences that address the continuum of care that would prepare a student to function in a variety of settings." As such, the student will gain clinical experience at local high schools, sports medicine clinics, family practice clinics, emergency care settings, and student health center, among others. These clinical experiences will be evaluated by your assigned ACI(s) or CI(s) and will constitute a part of your grade for each clinical course. Any course required for the program that is not completed, or passed with a grade of C or higher, must be repeated or the student will not graduate. In addition, athletic training students may not perform any clinical task for which s/he has not received formal classroom instruction and assessment.
During the first year of clinical experience the student will attend weekly clinical experiences, supervised by, and scheduled with, an approved clinical instructor as assigned by the program. This experience will include evening and weekend assignments but is limited to a maximum of 20 hours per week during the academic year. The student will be assigned three ten–week rotations per academic year (1.5 rotations per semester) in on–campus or off–campus (high school) settings. The anticipated experiences obtained by the students should include cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills in the prevention, recognition/evaluation, management/treatment, rehabilitation, organization/administration, and education/counseling of patients with injuries related to activity. It is during this year that the student will learn skills, be evaluated in class with oral–practical examinations, and begin utilizing these skills in the clinical setting under the direct supervision of clinical instructors.
During the second year of formal clinical experience, the student will attend weekly clinical experiences, supervised by, and scheduled with, an approved clinical instructor as assigned by the program. This experience will include evening and weekend assignments but is limited to a maximum of 20 hours per week during the academic year. The student will be assigned three ten–week rotations per academic year (1.5 per semester) with various clinical instructors and involving a variety of clinical, collegiate sport settings, including rotations in the University Athletic Training Facility, and at a local high school. The student will be assigned to a clinical instructor each rotation, and not to a specific sport or facility. This will include evening and weekend assignments and is limited to a maximum of 20 hours per week during the academic year. In turn, the student will gain exposures, under direct supervision, to patients that are involved in high–risk physical activity including equipment intensive, upper extremity and lower extremity intensive injury sports. These clinical experiences will include practice and game coverage, pre–event preparation, athletic training room coverage, clinical rotations, and a variety of clinical experiences. In addition, the second year clinical experience will involve a general medical and an orthopedic clinical experience at local health care facilities. The experiences obtained by each student will include cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills in the prevention, recognition/evaluation, management/treatment, rehabilitation, organization/administration, and education/counseling of injuries related to activity.
During this second year of clinical experiences, in conjunction with the clinical techniques courses, the student will be provided a clinical proficiencies assessment booklet, (there is an additional copy of this booklet in the ATS Handbook), and must have each of the clinical skills evaluated and signed by an approved clinical instructor (if satisfactorily completed) prior to the completion of the academic year. Please refer to the ATS program requirements contract.
In addition, both the first and second year students are assessed by their respective ACI or CI during each clinical experience (this will occur twice each semester). Each assessment contains three major components 1) personal attributes of the student, 2) professional attributes of the student, and 3) overall clinical proficiencies commensurate with the student's level in the program. These assessments are also used in determining the clinical course grades.
Note: Clinical experiences in athletic training are a required component of the athletic training students' education and will be a scheduling priority; outside work, activities, or obligations (other than personal or family related) will not be given priority during the scheduling process.
Note:Clinical experiences will take place during weekday afternoons, evenings and weekends as required by the clinical instructors (within the 20 hour per week limit).
Note:Any clinical experiences obtained outside of the normal academic year (i.e. when students are required to be on campus) are voluntary, but must still be directly supervised by a program ACI.
Costs associated with student clinical experiences will be the responsibility of the student. These costs include but are not limited to transportation to off–campus clinical sites for regular daily rotations (Note: this does not pertain to travel with teams MSU or high school for events or practices), student liability insurance which will be paid by the student as a special fee each year for the fall clinical courses HP 346 and HP 484, and clothing necessary to meet the ATEP dress code. Also note, some clinical sites may provide some funding opportunities for students, these funding opportunities exist only during pre–season training camps and during holiday breaks and the funds are at the digression of the clinical site however all policies, including direct supervision of students are always in effect. The educational program does not make financial awards for clinical experiences, other than defined academic scholarships, and awarded work study hours may not be counted toward clinical course requirements.
Although faculty and clinical instructors may establish their own attendance policies, students are expected to attend and participate in scheduled classroom, laboratory, and clinical sessions. Athletic training students will not be excused for team travel from any upper–level athletic training courses where educational competencies/proficiencies are being introduced.
Facilities, equipment, and supplies are to be used for education and health care delivery service only. Facilities, equipment, and supplies are costly to purchase and maintain. Students are expected to use and maintain them professionally and appropriately. All equipment and supplies should be returned to its proper place following use. Remember that the Highland Center Athletic Training Room is a dual purpose facility, it is an educational laboratory and it is used to provide health care to student–athletes. Facilities, equipment, and supplies are not to be used for personnel use without permission.
Eating and drinking in the classroom and clinical setting is prohibited. No food or drink should be allowed on or near areas where medical records are kept, where computers are located, where patients are receiving treatment, on or near therapeutic modalities, or near expendable supplies.
Faculty, staff, and students are expected to act professionally in the classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings, and in accordance with the professional ethics and standards of practice established by the National Athletic Trainer's Association and the Minnesota Board of medical Practice. This includes appropriate and consistent action with regard to all settings and policy enforcement, dress, and conduct. Student athletic trainers are viewed as an extension or and representative for the University. Maintaining the highest standards.
"Confidential Health Care Information" is defined as all information relating to a patient's health care history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, or evaluation obtained from a health care provider or staff person in contact with a patient. It is the responsibility of Athletic Training Education, through all of its students, to safeguard the medical information on each patient, whatever form the information may come to knowledge (i.e., medical records, billing slips, appointment schedules, verbal, etc.)
All information regarding a patient's medical conditions and treatments is confidential. This privileged information shared between them represents the essence of the special relationship between the patient and the health care provider, and as such, the information in the patient's records, appointment logs, billing office, etc., must be protected from unauthorized disclosure.
As an athletic training student whose clinical experiences require working with confidential health care information, the following shall apply:
As an student working directly with confidential health care information, I have been made aware by my supervisor that there are regulations pertaining to the confidentiality of health care information, and under no circumstances shall any information leave the premises either written or verbally, concerning any patient without that patient's written informed consent.
I understand and agree that in the performance of my duties as an student of MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, MANKATO, I will hold all health care information in confidence and that violation of this confidentiality will result in disciplinary action (in accordance with program policy), as well as outside civil and/or criminal penalties, up to and including a fine and/or imprisonment.
The purpose of this policy is to protect the health and safety of the students enrolled in the Athletic Training Education (ATEP) Program as they participate in the didactic and clinical education experiences required by the academic program in Athletic Training. It is designed to provide students, clinical instructors, and faculty with a plan to assist in the management of students with infectious diseases as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This policy was developed using the recommendations established by the CDC for health care workers and has been adopted, with permission, from the Duquesne University Department of Athletic Training; the recommendations were established on the basis of "existing scientific date, theoretic rationale, applicability and potential economic impact."
Guidelines for Prevention of Exposure and Infection
Note: See the Program Director or Clinical Coordinator for a copy of the full policy which includes "Table 1. Work restrictions for health care personnel exposed to or infected with infectious diseases in health care settings. Note: that the clinical judgment of the provider may supersede these guidelines."
