I agree with Mark. We make pre-season a requirement. We tell our students that
it is an opportune time for them to see a lot of injuries and to learn what the
pre-season chaos is about. During pre-season we want our students there as much
as possible, not as workers but as a learning experience. I believe that just
because a student may be involved in 8 hour a day preseason practices does not
mean they are being used as workers. If they are gaining valuable clinical
experience and education, then the hours with which they are involved should not
matter. We also require our students to come to campus during preseason
physicals, as this will better educate them on the pre-participation examination
process and about which athletes may have pre-existing conditions and how to
detect them. I would like to see education get away from the belief that if
students spend significant hours in the clinical setting that the extra time be
construed as they are working. The more exposure the better I say. It is up
to the educational program to ensure that student clinical education is not
abused into a work-for-free process. Just like hours do not equate to
competence, neither do hours equate to work abuse. It is a fine line but one I
believe we as educators can walk successfully. The question is, what will best
serve our students to make them competent athletic trainers when they leave the
confines of direct supervision and the nest of higher education? Exposure and
reps is the key so that we do not put out book smart ATC's with relatively
little clinical competence.

My two sense

Rob Sterner, PhD, ATC
Director, Athletic Training Education Program
Rowan University
201 Mullica Hill Road
Glassboro, NJ 08028
856-256-4500 ext 3767
sterner@...