Already certified? Consider becoming a preceptor.

Preceptors are important for the athletic training profession. They help not only support the education of athletic training students but provide mentorship and leadership within the athletic training profession itself.

The importance of precepting

Preceptors are hand-selected by athletic training program directors or clinical coordinators. The reason you’ve been asked to serve as a preceptor is that you’ve established yourself as someone who can successfully mentor an athletic training student. The athletic training program trusts you with the important task of mentoring and supporting a student. This is crucial because many athletic training students do not feel that they “belong” within the first six months of hire, and are sometimes at high risk of leaving the profession. As a preceptor, you teach the athletic training student how your organization expects the job to be done and socialize them into the profession.

Precepting is often the first step to becoming a leader. A successful preceptor has patience, motivation skills, communication skills, and the ability to present information clearly (break it down). Most importantly, preceptors must be supportive. The best preceptors are those who provide their preceptees with supportive, mutually respectful guidance. A safe, nonjudgmental…