Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Within AT
The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) is committed to equitable representation for all, including students, faculty, staff and key stakeholders regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability or veteran status. An inclusive environment improves the quality of health care in athletic training community relations and positively affects the health and wellness of our communities.
In 2020, the CAATE leadership released a Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to explain our values as an organization, and to demonstrate our commitment to celebrate and incorporate DEI concepts and diverse voices into current and future initiatives.
We are proud to act on this statement and advance our DEIA initiatives to better support AT educators and the students they serve. As the health care field continues to incorporate culturally competent care, the athletic training profession will lead, with a focus on ensuring diversity and inclusion in AT education programs. Our intent is to move the athletic training profession forward as we accomplish our DEIA goals.
Use the below resources to learn more about our DEIA initiatives and their impact on AT accredited programs. We will continue to update this page as we advance our DEIA goals.
CAATE Reaffirms Commitment to DEIA
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental strengths of our organization and profession. The CAATE Board of Commissioners met on September 22-23, 2023, and unanimously affirmed their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and the CAATE DEI Standards.
We understand that the landscape of health care and education is rapidly evolving, and as leaders in the field of athletic training, we have a responsibility to uphold our mission - to serve the public and profession by establishing and ensuring compliance with accreditation standards that facilitate quality outcomes, continuous improvement, innovation and diversity to enhance athletic training education.
As we move forward, the CAATE will work closely with accredited programs to provide resources, guidance, and assistance with the DEI Standards. We recognize that this will require ongoing communication, effort, and collaboration, and we are dedicated to facilitating meaningful progress in this area.
CAATE Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) is committed to equitable representation for all, including students, faculty, staff and key stakeholders. The CAATE creates the future of our profession and thus has an immediate impact and responsibility for engraining the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion into the educational process for students. As crucial as it is for us as health care professionals to enforce patient-centered care, it is just as important for the CAATE to enforce this core value into student-centered education.
As an organization, the CAATE is responsible for setting the standards for educating athletic trainers; therefore, the core values of the governing body need to match the needs of the profession. It is imperative the CAATE includes, celebrates and incorporates the concepts and voices of our changing world in our current and future narrative.
As athletic trainers, the population we serve is very diverse, and the clinical population needs to match the patient population. Representation matters. We cannot be an effective or successful community until all voices, especially those often marginalized in our field, are not only included but validated, amplified and celebrated.
The CAATE defines an inclusive environment as one that recognizes the contributions and supports of all, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability or veteran status. An inclusive environment has been shown to improve the quality of health care in athletic training community relations and positively affect the health and wellness of our communities. CAATE leadership strives to create an inclusive environment in our endeavors so that all patients are welcomed and valued.
It is critical for the CAATE to be committed to equitable representation for all, including students, faculty, staff and key stakeholders to enact educational reform, student-centered education, leadership opportunities and effective multicultural experiences in athletic training.
Definitions for the CAATE:
Diversity: creating an optimal learning environment for all, where people with different ideas, cultures, opinions, and experiences feel comfortable amongst each other and part of a larger dialogue to come together to improve patient-centered care. Diversity includes but is not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, marital status, abilities, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, and socioeconomic status.
Equity: Equity is providing everyone the opportunity to attain their full potential while no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of their social position or other socially determined circumstance.
Inclusion: Inclusion is a core component for effectively achieving diversity. Inclusion is achieved by cultivating the climate of the institution/organization through professional development, education, policy, and practice. This creates a climate that promotes a sense of belonging, respect, and value for all and encourages engagement and connection throughout the institution/organization and community we serve.
Social justice: Social Justice begins by recognizing that health care is a fundamental right. Social justice in medicine is equality in access to and quality of health care and right to health of everyone. Inequities in health care are unacceptable.
CAATE DEI Commitments:
- Diversity: We commit to increasing diversity, which refers to the variety of personal experiences, values and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, marital status, abilities, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, and socioeconomic status.
- Equity: We commit to ensuring access to opportunities within the CAATE and to working actively to challenge and respond to bias, harassment and discrimination.
- Inclusion: We commit to pursuing deliberate efforts to ensure the CAATE is an organization where people are welcomed, different perspectives are respectfully heard, and where every individual feels a sense of belonging, respected, supported and valued.
Statements on Racial Injustice
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Leadership Development Committee
To accomplish our DEIA goals, the CAATE developed its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Leadership Development Committee to build and ensure a culturally proficient environment throughout the organization and our stakeholder programs. This includes volunteer and leadership recruitment as well as DEIA training and review of program standards. With the help of this committee, we are making great strides in advancing DEIA initiatives within the organization and across our accreditation standards.
The work of the committee has been instrumental in setting objectives and goals for the CAATE. In the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan, we have outlined how the organization will spend the next three years advancing our commitment to equitable representation within all facets of athletic training education.
Learn more about this committee.
Professional AT Programs Accreditation Standards and Residency and Fellowship Standard Updates
With input from program administrators, the CAATE Standards Committee and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Leadership Development Committee, the commission has approved a new set of DEI & SJ Standards for both the Professional AT Programs Accreditation Standards and Residency and Fellowship AT Programs, reflecting concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. The updated standards require educators to add cultural competency to their athletic training curricula. We believe advancing diversity in AT education is a vital step toward fostering professional growth and development to meet the ever-changing needs of the health care field and our patients.
Compliance to the updated standards must be demonstrated within the 2022 annual reports. To help programs understand these changes and comply with the updated standards, the CAATE offers many resources, including instructional webinars, town hall discussions, dedicated sessions at the accreditation conference and documented guidance.
Resources:
The 2021 Accreditations Conference featured multiple sessions that will aid in the understanding and compliance of the updated standards. You might be interested in these sessions.
- Incorporating Social Determinants of Health into Athletic Training Education
- From the Beginning: Developing a DEI Framework Embedded Throughout the Athletic Training Curriculum (Professional Program)
- Teaching and Assessing DEI in a Clinical Environment/Teaching and Assessing DEI in a Didactic Environment
- Cultural Competency in AT Education: Advocating for the Health Needs of All Patients, Communities, and Populations: Panel and Group Discussion (Professional Program)
View all Conference Recordings
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice Webinar Series
The CAATE presents a webinar series focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice.
Starting With Why
The ability to provide patient-centered care is dependent not only on being compassionate and empathetic but also on the understanding of how a patient’s cultural differences and personal circumstances may affect their health.
Athletic trainers who value diversity are more equipped to advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice in addition to the health needs of their clients, patients and larger communities. To drive enhancement in patient care across the athletic training profession, overt and intentional focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice must be promoted in athletic training curricula. This webinar will serve as a resource to describe why the inclusion of specific diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice curricular content standards are a necessary and precise component of patient-centered care.
Watch the Recorded Webinar
Presented by: Toni Torres-McGehee, PhD, SCAT, ATC; Luzita Vela, PhD, LAT, ATC
An Overview of Terminology
The nomenclature surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion continues to evolve, presenting the potential for communication barriers that challenge the provision of patient-centered care. The use of common language surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice can help athletic trainers communicate effectively and appropriately communicate with patients, family members, health care professionals and others regarding these concepts.
The expanding nature of the terms used to describe diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice prevents this webinar from being comprehensive in nature. This webinar will serve as a resource for which the concepts of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice are commonly defined in an effort to improve understanding of the curricular content standards and their implementation in the athletic training curriculum.
Watch the Recorded Webinar
Presented by: Amanda Tritsch, PhD, LAT, ATC, Associate Professor, University of South Florida
The CAATE’s commitment to DEI, as outlined in the strategic plan, will continue to guide our organization’s educational development and strategic thinking. We are excited by the progress we have made so far, and we look forward to working with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Leadership Development Committee and other key stakeholders to identify more actions for inclusion to advance the profession.