Preceptors Perceptions of Clinical Reasoning: An Investigation of Athletic Training Practice

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Publication Title

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Volume

23

Issue

2

Pages

23 (1-16)

Abstract

Purpose: Clinical reasoning is critical for healthcare professionals to accurately diagnose and treat injury and illness. The development of this skill starts to form during a student’s clinical education where preceptors serve as the primary clinical role model. Preceptors in athletic training have expressed a desire to learn how to develop and teach clinical reasoning concepts to students. The first step in this process is to understand how preceptors clinically reason. Little investigation has gone into exploring preceptors understanding of their clinical reasoning in practice. The aim of this study was to explore athletic training preceptors' perceptions of their clinical reasoning processes. Methods: The researchers conducted nine qualitative, semistructured interviews with licensed athletic trainers who served as preceptors to professional-level athletic training students. Audio files were transcribed verbatim, checked for accuracy, deidentified, and member checked before analysis. A 3-person data analysis team using an inductive coding approach consistent with the consensual qualitative research approach was used. The researchers reviewed the transcripts independently, met to develop a codebook, applied the codes, and conducted internal auditing. To enhance trustworthiness, a 4th member of the research team, serving as internal auditor, confirmed the accuracy of the findings following the structured, 4-phase data analysis progression. Results: Preceptors' perceptions of clinical reasoning revealed four main themes, and 12 categories emerged from the semi-structured interviews. The main themes were diagnostic reasoning, therapeutic reasoning, contextual reasoning, and metacognition. Conclusions: Preceptors demonstrate all facets of clinical reasoning, including diagnostic, therapeutic, and contextual reasoning. Preceptors did not articulate that they were purposefully using and developing these patterns of clinical reasoning. Allied health professions academic programs should use this data to foster and develop clinical educators who consciously communicate their mental processes to their students while utlizing clinical reasoning in their patient interactions.

Rights

© 2025 The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 2025.

"Presentation of contributions to the IJAHSP is made possible by transfer of copyright from the author to the IJAHSP. All elements of the Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, including its name, structure, and organization are also protected by copyright and are the property of Nova Southeastern University. Author's or other interested parties wishing to reprint manuscripts in other non-IJAHSP publications, must receive permission from the journal for doing so. Libraries wishing to store contributions presented by the journal for local retrieval may do so only if sufficient reference is given to the Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, and only if links to the original manuscript location are listed."

ORCID

0000-0003-3171-9141 (Cavallario), 0000-0002-6754-7938 (Van Lunen)

Original Publication Citation

Cohen, G. W., Van Lunen, B. L., Cavallario, J. M., Vela, L. I., & Jones, B. C. (2025). Preceptors perceptions of clinical reasoning: An investigation of athletic training practice. Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 23(2), 16 pp., Article 23. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/ijahsp/vol23/iss2/23/

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