Promoting Soft Skill Development in Preprofessional Athletic Training Students

Context Athletic training programs are required to incorporate the development of many foundational skills and behaviors into the curriculum. Athletic training students must develop soft skills such as effective communication, exhibiting empathy, dependability, and integrity, which are all associated with quality athletic trainers. Objective To describe a novel approach to promoting the awareness of values and development of the characteristics and soft skills associated with being a successful student and health care professional for students before they enter their clinical experiences. Background Graduate and undergraduate programs typically offer an introductory course to students before their first clinical assignment. The main emphasis of introductory courses is often on learning foundational knowledge and technical skills. However, early adoption of professional values and development of soft skills may benefit students as they start their clinical experiences. Description A course was designed using 11 main themes to guide student learning in values and behaviors important to academics and a career in health care. This article describes how the 11 themes were selected and developed, how the course was delivered, and how various pedagogical strategies were incorporated. Clinical Advantage(s) Development of soft skills may benefit athletic training students as they enter the professional phase of an athletic training program. Conclusion(s) As athletic training education shifts to the master's level, fostering soft skills and necessary preclinical skills for students from varied backgrounds is becoming ever more important so students are all equitably prepared for their first clinical experiences.