New Kent State online program reaches out to certified athletic trainers

Certified athletic trainers seeking to become physical therapist assistants now can earn the degree in a little more than a year by taking mostly online courses.

Kent State University Ashtabula will welcome its first class of 14 athletic trainers on June 15. The program, designed to take into account what athletic trainers already know, requires the students to be on campus just six times. They will graduate with associate degrees in 14 months, while students enrolled in the traditional program commit to two years.

Mike Blake, the program director, said he and his colleagues developed the track for athletic trainers because they had received calls from people wondering whether they could complete the program without having to retake courses. He also said that athletic trainers who have enrolled in the traditional program have been “outstanding” students.

As a result, Blake said: “We looked closely at what athletic trainers needed and what they already had. Then we designed a whole new curriculum.”

That makes it a unique program, said Doug Clarke, associate director of accreditation for the American Physical Therapy Association. He noted the curriculum includes competency checks and methods to help bridge educational requirements.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of physical therapist assistants and aides is expected to grow by 29 percent between 2006 and 2016. The bureau also estimates a 24 percent spike in employment of athletic trainers.

Blake said the program’s first summer will be devoted to a transition course that tests athletic trainers’ skills. Other program requirements include clinical rotations in a hospital, nursing-home, an outpatient orthopedic center and a specialty setting — all of which can be done anywhere.

Blake and Clarke both said that having the additional degree will make the athletic trainers more marketable. The two credentials are “a great combination,” Blake said.