Human Movement Sciences - Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP)

Clinical Education

Clinical Education Overview

Once admitted to the ATEP students are required to complete a clinical education component each semester for five sequential semesters. Students are assigned to an approved clinical instructor (ACI) either at UWM, or other sites in the community, and commit an average of 12 hours per week to clinical education. The primary purpose of these clinical education experiences is to provide the student with the opportunity to practice and refine their clinical skills in the context of direct patient care. The diversity of the ATEP clinical education assignments ensures that each student will be provided exposure to emergency and acute injury care, upper and lower extremity injuries, a variety of sport-specific equipment experiences, and general medical interactions with other members of the health-care community.

Clinical education assignments are coordinated by the ATEP Clinical Coordinator and are based upon the class and/or work schedule of each student as well as identification of clinical experience deficiencies with regard to previous sport coverage and clinical experience settings. This process allows the ATEP to accommodate the individual student-needs while ensuring that each student participates in an appropriate, yet diverse set of supervised clinical experiences. The emphasis of each clinical rotation will directly correspond to the semester-specific set of educational competencies and clinical proficiencies presented in the concurrent academic courses.

Supplemental Clinical Experiences

The growth of our community-based clinical affiliates has provided a number of clinical experience opportunities to augment a student's education. These supplemental experiences are organized by the Athletic Training Clinical Coordinator and disseminated to the students through electronic postings and the weekly Seminar in Athletic Training class. Examples of recent supplemental experiences include:

• Surgical observations
• Shadowing a team physician and/or orthopedic surgeon during hospital rounds or patient appointments
• Assisting a certified athletic trainer with athletic training coverage for local high school, collegiate, and professional sporting events
• Assisting a certified athletic trainer with athletic training coverage for local sporting events sponsored by independent organizations such as USA Volleyball and National Youth Soccer Tournaments

Useful resources

Educational competency lists:
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Semester 4
Semester 5
Clinical Progression Requirements