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The Shrinking Space for Leadership in Athletic Training Education

  • Writer: Shelby Daly
    Shelby Daly
  • 3 days ago
  • 2 min read

With the BOC Practice Analysis 8th Edition (PA8), one change flew under the radar but carries deep professional implications:


Domain 5 (Health Administration & Professional Responsibility) dropped from 13% (PA7) to just 8%.


That 5% shift might seem like a small recalibration of exam content… but it represents a meaningful devaluation of the competencies that make athletic trainers more than clinicians - it touches the heart of our leadership and long-term professional sustainability.


Domain 5 isn’t about paperwork, it’s about power.


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It’s where we learn to:


  • Navigate the business workings of healthcare - budgeting, billing, documentation, and policy.

  • Build financial literacy to advocate for fair pay, sustainable workload models, and resource allocation.

  • Develop leadership and management skills to supervise staff, direct departments, and influence policy.

  • Practice advocacy and professionalism that moves athletic training forward in healthcare systems.

  • Understand risk management and compliance, ensuring we operate ethically and effectively.


When only 8% of our professional competencies are devoted to these areas, we risk creating a generation of athletic trainers who are clinically sharp but structurally powerless - excellent at care delivery, but underprepared to lead, negotiate, or advocate for the value of that care.


Our field doesn’t just need more ATs - it needs ATs who understand the systems we work within. Let’s make sure we’re teaching the business, ethics, and leadership sides of athletic training with the same rigor as clinical skills.


The future of athletic training depends on more than clinical mastery.


If we want to expand roles, earn equitable pay, and secure our place at the healthcare table, we must elevate, not minimize, the competencies that teach ATs how to run the systems we work within.


Clinical care saves patients.

Administrative literacy saves the profession.


References

  • Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC). Practice Analysis, 8th Edition (PA8): Content Outline. Omaha, NE: Board of Certification; 2023.

  • Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC). Practice Analysis, 7th Edition (PA7). Omaha, NE: Board of Certification; 2015. Available from:

  • Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC). BOC Practice Analysis, 8th Edition May Impact Your Education Program. Published online March 2023.

  • Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). 2022-2023 Educational Data Report. Published 2024.

  • Carr WD, Volberding JL, Jucovy J, Horsley S, Terry C. Characteristics of athletic training students that preceptors find desirable. Athl Train Educ J. 2016;11(1):27-35. doi:10.4085/110127

  • Eiroa K, Konin JG. How to be an effective preceptor: A literature review. Athl Train Educ J. 2020;15(1):64-72. doi:10.4085/150164


scd 10/15/25

 
 
 
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