Employer and Employee Opinions of Thematic Deficiencies in New Athletic Training Graduates

Context: Anecdotal information has been shared for several years that employers do not feel that new athletic training graduates are ready for the workforce. To date there have been no studies of employers and employees to determine deficiencies in order to confirm or refute this position. Objective: To explore the opinions of employers and employees (recent graduates within the last 3–5 years) about the level of preparation and readiness for the work force of new athletic training graduates. Specifically, the purpose was to examine the themes emerging from interviews with employers and employees about the employee's abilities. Design and Setting: A mixed methods quantitative/qualitative design involving in-depth focus group interviews. Interviews were conducted in a controlled environment during the National Athletic Trainers' Association Annual Symposium in June of 2010. Participants: Eleven employers and five employees were available at scheduled times during the symposium. Extensive networking efforts were conducted to solicit participants from 3 work settings; college/university, high school/clinic/outreach, and emerging practices. Data Collection and Analysis: Focus group interviews were videotaped then transcribed verbatim and analyzed deductively. Peer debriefing and member checks were used to ensure trustworthiness. Results: Several ‘thematic’ deficiencies, or abilities, that were lacking emerged from our analysis. Both groups cited: 1) interpersonal communication, 2) decision making/independence, 3) initiative, 4) confidence, and 5) humility/ability to learn from mistakes as abilities that were deficient in new graduates. Administrative skills was the only thematic deficiency cited by the employees but not the employers. Conclusion: Limitations of current curriculum education models and employer-driven on-the-job-orientation and experience were identified as areas of concern.