Abstract
Purpose: The Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT) degree is one postprofessional educational pathway that could provide athletic trainers advancement in clinical, leadership, and scholarship practice. Although some is known about the motivations to pursue and the anticipated learning outcomes from both clinical and educational settings, we sought to explore the stated learning outcomes DAT programs publicly state related to advanced clinical practice, advanced practice leadership, scholarship, and specific programmatic uniqueness. Methods: We used a document review of publicly available websites. We analyzed eight DAT program websites that were available as of September 2023. Using deductive coding, from the professional definition, we used the following domains to characterize the data: advanced clinical practice, advanced practice leadership, scholarship, and specific program uniqueness. We used inductive coding to characterize the data which emerged from the publicly available websites. Researchers used reflexivity, triangulation, and auditing to ensure the trustworthiness and accuracy of the data. Results: Every program (n=8, 100%) described engaging students in each of the following thematic areas: advanced clinical practice, advanced practice leadership, scholarship, and specific programmatic uniqueness. Programs varied in the subcategories of each topic with some programs just teaching toward the primary learning outcome not stating any of the sub-learning outcomes. Conclusion: The stated learning outcomes varied from program to program allowing for students to best select programs that focus on areas they are seeking. Leadership outcomes stated in the DAT curricula may be an important aspect of the DAT degree. Due to the changes in postprofessional opportunities, there is an increased need for DAT programs to provide postprofessional program options in athletic training.
Recommended Citation
Rivera MJ, Orr S, Eberman LE. Educational Objectives of Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT) Degree Programs: A Document Review. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2025 Jul 28;23(3), Article 22.
