Implementing competency-based education for athletic therapy in Canada—Are we ready for change?

Context

In 2013, the Canadian Athletic Therapists’ Association (CATA) Education Task Force made recommendations for future athletic therapy education in Canada with 10 consensus statements. Little progress has been reported to date, particularly on two statements: implementation of competency-based education (CBE) and establishing a valid, reliable, feasible, and financially viable practical national certification examination (NCE).

Objective

We sought to understand the perspectives of CATA program directors (PDs) as it related to implementation of CBE and potential abolishment of the practical examination.

Methods

A qualitative, phenomenological approach was employed to better understand the athletic therapy program directors’ lived experiences as it related to CBE implementation in their own educational institutions. Secondarily and related to understanding this phenomenon, we sought to understand PD perspectives on taking over the responsibility for establishing competence for their graduates as a surrogate to replace the practical NCE. Semi-structured interviews took place with the seven PDs or all CATA-accredited programs. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes. We (ML and RD) independently and blindly established themes and later met to discuss the themes that emerged from the interviews.

Results

Four key themes emerged from the analysis: (a) definition of CBE; (b) national standards; (c) trust; and (d) collaboration.

Discussion

Each of the themes that emerged had the commonality that all were barriers to implement CBE. Some PDs did not think they were currently offering CBE, yet described many of the key features of CBE. A definition and national standard would help to progress the implementation of CBE.