Appendix B. External Review of the Division of Athletic Training Joint Collaboration between the Colleges of Education and Health Sciences April 2004

Transcription

1 Appendix B External Review of the Division of Athletic Training Joint Collaboration between the Colleges of Education and Health Sciences April

2 Consultation Report to the University of Kentucky s Athletic Training Educational Program Consultative Visit April 5-7, 2004 Kenneth L. Knight: PhD, ATC, FACSM Brigham Young University Gerald W. Bell: EdD, ATC/L, PT University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 39

3 Table of Contents I. Individuals Interviewed, Facilities, Sites Visited Page 2 II. Charge Page 3 III. Background Page 3 IV. Program Evolution Page 4 V. Observations Page 4 III. Recommandations Page 5 IV. Signature Page 6 Individuals Interviewed College of Health Sciences Lori Gonzalez, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Health Sciences Carl Mattacola, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Director, Division of Athletic Training (2 times) Timothy Uhl, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Athletic Training Judy Page, Ph.D., Chair-Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Terry Malone, PhD, Professor, Physical Therapy (informally) Department of Athletics Jim Madaleno, MS, AT, Head Athletic Trainer-Football, Adjunct Faculty Member Keith Webster, MA, AT, Head Athletic Trainer-Administration, Adjunct Faculty Member College of Education James Cibulka, Ph.D., Dean-College of Education Robert Shapiro, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Research, College of Education (3 times) John Hall, Ed.D., Chair-Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion (2 times) Jody Clasey, Ph.D., Faculty, Department Kinesiology and Health Promotion J.W. Yates, Ph.D., Graduate Director, Department Kinesiology and Health Promotion Brian Umberger, Ph.D., Faculty, Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion Graduate School Jeannine Blackwell, Ph.D., Dean-The Graduate School 40

4 Facilities and Sites Visited College of Health Sciences Division of Athletic Training Office Suite Conference Room Musculoskeletal - Athletic Training Research Lab College of Education Taylor Hall Dickey Hall Wenner Gren Biomedical Research Lab Seaton Center -Conference Room -Biodynamics Laboratory -Body Composition Core Laboratory -Exercise Physiology Research Lab Charge The University of Kentucky s Division of Athletic Training of the College of Health Sciences and Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion of the College of Education sought external review concerning their master s degree program in Athletic Training. They are anticipating seeking national accreditation of the program. This is the second review of the status of the proposed graduate program in athletic training for the purpose of seeking accreditation by the NATA based on 2002 Standards and Guidelines for Post-Certification Programs in Athletic Training. The March 17, 2004 letter s charge from Dean s Cibulka and Robinson to the site review members was: to collect information about the structure, characteristics, and resources of the University of Kentucky that can contribute to insuring that Athletic Training education at UK is located in the best place and position to contribute to the University s mission, goals and vision to be a top twenty university by Where should this program be located in the UK structure? What resources does the program need to achieve excellence and what does the program need to possess? Background The current program exists as part of the degree offering within the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion as a Masters in Kinesiology within the Exercise Science Concentration. The primary faculty for the program, Dr s Carl Mattacola and Tim Uhl are housed in the Division of Athletic Training of the College of Health Sciences. The University of Kentucky is the flagship institution of higher education for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The athletic training education program indicates that UK is one of the nation s largest research universities, and that it s 11 colleges, five 41

5 Professional schools and the Graduate School support more than 30,900 students on the Lexington Campus, the UK Chandler Medical Center and Lexington Community College. UK is a designated a research I University by the Carnegie Foundation. The master s degree program in Athletic Training (AT) is designed to accommodate both NATA certified athletic trainers and NATA certification eligible athletic trainers. The AT program represents cooperative efforts of the: Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion in the College of Education, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Health Sciences Department of Athletics, and Department of Orthopedics, Division of Sports Medicine Course work and clinical experiences are designed to develop skills necessary to conduct research and increase proficiency in sports injury prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. A goal is to produce critical consumers of research and acceptable clinical practices, advanced health care providers, and leaders in the clinical, educational and research endeavors of the athletic training profession. Clinical experiences are an integral part of the program. Clinical sites include UK athletics, UK sports medicine, local colleges and high schools and UK research labs. At present all programs of study lead to the capstone thesis research. Tuition assistant and stipends are available. The Department of Athletics currently funds 10 positions. Program Evolution The idea for a graduate program in Athletic Training was initiated by the Athletics Association in 1998 in response to: A charge to newly hired Athletic Trainers Jim Madaleno (Head Athletic Trainer-Football) and Keith Webster (Head Athletic Trainer Administration) to revamp athletic health care so as to use the services of the UK medical school rather than services outside the university for medical services beyond those provided by the Department of Athletics Athletic Training Staff, and A 1996 change in requirements to sit for the athletic training certification exam. The Athletic Training Board of Certification announced that as of January 2004 it would only accept candidates who had completed an accredited athletic training curriculum. Prior to that time, students could sit for the certification exam through an internship with certified athletic trainers and completing 13 core courses. Many of the core courses were taught in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion by Department of Athletics personnel. The implication of this initiative was that the Department of Athletics would lose the majority of their student workforce. 42

6 Mr. s Madaleno and Webster, both seasoned educators (Mr. Madaleno had directed an accredited undergraduate program for 7 years prior to accepting the UK position) determined that their workforce needs could best be met by funding positions for graduate students, certified as athletic trainers through undergraduate training in accredited AT programs. Based on national trends, their previous educational experiences, and their charge to work more cooperatively with the Medical Center, they proposed that UK develop a graduate program for athletic training, and that it be located in the College of Allied Health Professions, now the College of Health Sciences. The Medical Center funded two faculty lines to begin the program. Because of a university wide moratorium on new degree programs, the program was initially piggy-backed on the MS in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion. Observations 1. There is strong respect between faculty of KHP and Athletic Training. 2. There is a desire by faculty of KHP and Athletic training to collaborate. 3. Providing students with the strongest possible program was mentioned often by people interviewed. 4. The mission of the Graduate Athletic Training program is much more closely aligned with the mission of the College of Health Sciences than the mission of the College of Education. The argument that many athletic training graduates are employed by educational institutions would be similar to arguing that a nursing student who desired to be a school health nurse should study nursing in the College of Education. 5. Funding for the program has come almost exclusively from the Athletics Association and the College of Health Sciences, although faculty of KHP have mentored Athletic Training students in thesis and have made their laboratories available for thesis research. 6. The most often repeated argument by the KHP faculty and leaders was that if the program moves to the College of Health Sciences, KHP s number of graduates would fall below a standard established by the state and therefore require KHP to periodically justify the quality of their graduate program. 7. There were conflicting arguments that: If the program left KHP there may be less of an opportunity for athletic training students to conduct research in KHP laboratories, and that Faculty of KHP have ongoing collaboration with faculty and students of Physical Therapy, which is also housed in the College of Health Sciences. (This last point was given in the context of demonstrating that KHP faculty understand the needs of allied health students and scholars) It seems if they collaborate with one group in Health Sciences, why would they not collaborate with another. 43

7 8. Faculty of KHP expressed concern that if athletic training left KHP its research productivity would drop off as occurred when the Physical Therapy Masters degree program left KHP. We feel this is unfounded for two reasons: The decline of research amongst Physical Therapy Masters Students occurred as a result of a nation-wide shift of physical therapy education from entry level bachelors degrees to entry-level Masters Degrees. The entry-level master s degree was clinically based rather than research based. Students with a clinical master s degree had no interest in obtaining a post-certification masters degree. Thus the decrease in research occurred because students quit enrolling in research based masters degree programs. Drs. Mattacola and Uhl are dedicated allied health scientists who feel the growth of their profession and improvement of health care depend on research. They are both well trained scientists with ongoing research agenda s. 9. Athletic Training students would continue to take courses in KHP. The proposed move of the program to the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences will not change the degree requirements of the program. 10. The proposed move will have no effect on athletic training doctoral students. They will continue to receive degrees from KHP or the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences as is the current policy. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The graduate AT program and the faculty of that program should be combined into a single department. We agree with Dean Cibulka that the present structure is bizarre. 2. The program be housed in the Department of Rehabilitative Sciences in the College of Health Sciences, as recommended by the 2003 program review team, Provision 12 of the 1996 NATA Education Task Force (see NATA News, Feb 1997), and the 2002 NATA Standards & Guidelines for Accreditation of Post- Certification Graduate Athletic Training Educations Programs. 3. The master s degree be designated as an MS degree in athletic training, as recommended in the 2002 NATA Standards & Guidelines. - We note that the previous two recommendations are not requirements for program accreditation by the NATA; they are the trends of the future and are what students are beginning to look for. These will help the program to attract the best students. 4. The College of Health Sciences follow through with their proposal to add an additional faculty line to the Athletic Training Division 44

8 5. Continue to develop the graduate athletic training education program to meet the expectations of the University of Kentucky, the community, the state of Kentucky and the Graduate Review Committee of the National Athletic Trainers Association. 6. Fully implement the recommendations on page 6 and 7 of the Review of the Division of Athletic Training completed on April 17 and 18 th, 2003 including program location, program resources, accreditation and doctoral level education. Signature Kenneth L. Knight PhD, AT, ACSM Gerald W. Bell: EdD, AT/L, PT, CIE, ACI DATE: 45