UE MSAT Program Adds New Clinical Immersive Experiences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cynthia Simmons/Amanda Campbell
August 27, 2018 812-488-2236/uerelations@evansville.edu

UE MSAT Program Adds New Clinical Immersive Experiences

The University of Evansville’s Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) Program has added two new opportunities to the already extensive immersive experiences that it offers its students. Those in the program can now also experience a clinical rotation with Vanderbilt University athletic teams and F. C. Dallas, Major League Soccer team.

Students already have the opportunity to gain clinical experience by working with Western Kentucky University football and Northwestern University football, along with area high schools, universities, professional teams, and medical facilities.

Immersive clinical experiences at institutions like these are invaluable to students, said Kathy Liu, UE’s MSAT program director.

“The immersive experience gives students a taste of what it is like to be a practicing, certified, athletic trainer,” she explained. “They do everything that an athletic trainer does. They get a feel for these elite settings, and can make great connections that can help them when they are looking for jobs.”

All MSAT students participate in an immersive clinical rotation. Classes taken during a student’s immersive semester are online. The student does not need to be on campus, so there are no geographic restrictions on the immersive rotations.  

Liu noted that the two new clinical experience partnerships offer unique advantages.

“Vanderbilt is a successful athletic program and gives us another clinical site within a Power Five conference, the SEC. Not only is its football team competing against high-level competition every week, Vanderbilt has many other successful programs, including a baseball team that is consistently one of the nation’s best.”

Partnering with FC Dallas gives UE’s athletic training program something that very few athletic training programs have – a major professional sports in-season clinical site.  

“That clinical site is staffed by a UE alumnus, which is advantageous since he understands what kind of education we want to give our students to prepare them for the real world.”

UE’s MSAT program has been producing successful clinicians for many years and will continue to do so far into the future, said Liu.

“Adding these clinical experiences to an already proven educational model puts our graduates at a significant advantage when looking for employment.”