Jun. 19, 2024
The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) has accredited its first athletic training fellowship program. During the monthly CAATE Board meeting on June 11, 2024, the Board voted to granted Initial Accreditation to the Athletic Training Fellowship Program in Neurology at Boston University.
A fellowship is an advanced educational program offering focused training for certified athletic trainers aiming to specialize further. This subspecialization focuses on a specific niche within the broader specialization. Athletic training fellowship programs emphasize formal clinical development, structured didactic curricula, and scholarship within the subspecialty.
Following ACGME guidelines, athletic training learners work a minimum of 40 clinical practice hours and a maximum of 80 cumulative clinical practice and educational work hours per week. Minimum requirements are as follows:
- 1664 total clinical practice hours in the specialty/subspecialty
- 500 total hours of mentored time within the specialty/subspecialty
- 260 additional hours of planned didactic education
Intentional clinical practice exposes residents and fellows to the diverse spectrum of their specialty or subspecialty area. Scholarship is a key component of residency or fellowship education, focusing on patient care within the specialty or subspecialty. Mentored time by core or affiliate faculty is typically higher at the beginning of the program, decreasing as the resident or fellow progresses toward autonomous practice.
Residency and fellowship programs must also demonstrate proficiency in the six core competencies defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME):
1. Practice-based learning and improvement
2. Patient care and procedural skills
3. Systems-based practice
4. Medical knowledge
5. Interpersonal and communication skills
6. Professionalism
These programs aim to showcase advanced practice and content expertise by integrating these core competencies into clinical practice, didactic learning, and scholarship, all of which relate back to patient care.
The CAATE commends the work and commitment done by the Boston University Athletic Training Fellowship Program to achieve CAATE accreditation, and advancement of our profession.