Context: New faculty are expected to teach, be productive scholars, and provide service in order to earn tenure, but few experience the full spectrum of faculty responsibility during doctoral preparation. Recent evidence suggests mentorship and orientation are important during role transition. However, how employers facilitate role transition for…

Context: Selection of one's occupation can be influenced and determined by several variables and is often studied through the lens of the socialization framework. Career choice has been examined in athletic training, with scholars focusing on identifying initial attractors to the education programs as well as the traditional employment settings.…

Context: Little research is available on how athletic training educators develop their instructional styles over the course of their careers and what influences their teaching practices. Understanding the development of athletic training educators' teaching practices may help promote effective teaching in athletic training programs and help guide…

Context: Work-life balance has become a growing concern in athletic training, but little is known about the experiences of faculty and finding it. Challenges in finding work-life balance have been reported among faculty in higher education, and those who are new to a role are often susceptible to increased stress and overload. Objective: Examine…

Context: Mentoring is a beneficial mechanism to support junior faculty members as they navigate job expectations, institutional nuances, and the professional landscape during the first few years as a faculty member. Whereas effective characteristics of informal mentoring relationships are generally understood, less is known about factors that…

Context: Athletic training students' ability to transition into professional practice is a critical component for the future of the profession. However, research on professional master's students' transition to practice and readiness to provide autonomous care is lacking. Objective: To determine professional master's athletic training students'…

Context: Mentorship is a valuable resource for athletic trainers who are transitioning to new roles such as a student, preceptor, or autonomous clinician. While mentorship has been identified as an important component of education, little is known about the role of mentorship during the transition from doctoral student to faculty member during the…

Context: Mentorship has been identified as a contributor to the socialization of athletic training preceptors. Understanding how mentorship occurs and contributes to preceptor development may help athletic training educators facilitate effective mentorship within their athletic training programs. Objective: Examine preceptors' perceptions of…

Context: Although doctoral education provides ample opportunities for skill development, the new faculty member may still require further support and guidance. Mentorship is often the mechanism whereby continued encouragement is provided. Limited understanding exists of the mentoring relationships developed between a new faculty member and a…

Context: The professional socialization process enables athletic training students (ATSs) to gain insights into behaviors, values, and attitudes that characterize their chosen profession. However, the process often focuses on skill development over professional issues. ATSs may be exposed to burnout and work-life conflict, which may impact their…

Context: Some newly credentialed athletic trainers pursue a postprofessional degree with a curriculum that specifically advances their athletic training practice. Orientation sessions are a tactic used to assist these students' transition into these new roles of graduate student and independent clinician, yet the structure of these sessions is…

Context: Retaining athletic training students has been identified as problematic by approximately half of athletic training program (ATP) directors. It is unknown what ATP directors do to improve athletic training student retention. Objective: To identify initiatives that ATP directors use to improve the retention rates of athletic training…

Context: Doctoral education is the mechanism whereby athletic trainers can develop an awareness of their future roles and responsibilities in higher education. Evidence suggests that doctoral education may provide an incomplete understanding of these roles and responsibilities, warranting further investigation. Objective: To gain a better…

Context: Student retention is a key issue in higher education. With the increasing number of professional master's (PM) athletic training programs (ATPs), understanding student retention is necessary to maintain viable programs. Objective: Explore program directors' perceptions of the reasons athletic training students persist and depart from PM…

Context: Graduates of athletic training programs (ATPs) have identified factors contributing to their persistence through professional education. However, program directors have yet to elaborate on programmatic attributes that might contribute to athletic training student retention in their respective ATPs. Objective: To determine program…