Clinical Education Coursework

The purpose of clinical education courses is to instruct and evaluate students on the required psychomotor competencies defined by the Commission on Accreditation for Athletic Training Education (CAATE). All accredited athletic training education programs must have clinical education courses that span over two academic years. Chapman's ATEP exceeds this requirement by requiring students to complete these courses over three academic years. This allows each student more time to integrate the application of clinical skills and to further develop critical-thinking skills.

Each clinical education course has its own focus, educational objectives, and required psychomotor competencies:

• AT 164 Emergency Management in Athletic Training– basic life support (i.e., CPR, AED, hemorrhage control); immediate care of fractures, dislocations, and spinal injuries

• AT 193 Introduction to Clinical Skills Lab– beginning taping and protective wrapping techniques, lower and upper extremity stretching, therapeutic modality application.

• AT 204L Prevention and Treatment of Athletic Injuries Lab– taping, wrapping, and bracing; equipment fitting; basic injury evaluation
• AT 308L Evaluation of the Lower Extremities Lab– clinical evaluation and diagnosis of the foot, ankle, lower leg, knee, hip/thigh/pelvis, and lumbosacral spine
• AT 309L Evaluation of Upper Extremities Lab– clinical evaluation and diagnosis of the cervical spine, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, and fingers
• AT 312L Rehabilitation Lab– rehabilitation techniques, including therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, aquatic therapy, and joint-specific rehabilitation programming
• AT 411L General Medical Lab– general medical evaluation; assessment of injuries to the head and face, chest/thorax, and abdomen; cardiac and pulmonary diseases, and skin disorders
• AT 498L Capstone Lab– final clinical lab course that reviews psychomotor competencies with an emphasis on those most necessary for the entry-level athletic trainer

Furthermore, athletic training students must enroll in fieldwork courses (AT 296, 297, 396, 397, 495, 496) each semester of their sophomore, junior, and senior years to complete clinical rotations outside of the classroom setting with an assigned Approved Clinical Instructor (ACI) or Clinical Instructor (CI) at one of the ATEP's affiliated clinical sites.