Student Perceptions of an Athletic Training Residential Living Community

Context Colleges and universities are implementing new academic and social programs to retain students. One possible program is a residential living community (RLC) devoted to a content area. Objective To understand the perceptions of athletic training students involved in an RLC. Design Qualitative study. Setting Athletic training program. Patients or Other Participants Ten athletic training students (8 female, 2 male; average age = 19.50 ± 0.97 years) who participated in an RLC during their first year in college volunteered to participate. Data Collection and Analysis We used QuestionPro to complete in-depth interviews by having the participants journal their responses to open-ended questions. We used grounded theory to uncover the dominant themes and negotiated over the coding scheme, completed member checks, and performed a peer review to establish trustworthiness. Results The overall theme of our data pertained to the supportive nature of the RLC allowing for early socialization. Specifically, we uncovered 3 subthemes. The participants found study opportunities common because they lived in close proximity to peers in the same classes. Our participants believed the RLC provided a supportive environment by fostering a support network with classmates navigating similar challenges. Students also enjoyed early socialization by having a resident assistant who was an upper-level athletic training student. The final theme emerged from the unintended consequences of the RLC. Finding a quiet area in which to study became difficult and students often had trouble making personal connections outside of athletic training. Conclusions The RLC promoted first-year student success by fostering relationships and providing early socialization to the demands of the athletic training program. Some negative aspects did occur; however, these can be remedied by having quiet study spaces available and providing students with sufficient time outside of athletic training to pursue extracurricular endeavors.