What is the DAT – Doctorate of Athletic Training

Is the DAT the right choice for your advanced degree? Should you pursue your Ph.D. or maybe an Ed.D.?

Dr. Matthew Drescher, a PhD candidate, already earned his DAT from ISU and joins me to answer some of my questions. In the next two podcast we will discuss the Ph.D. and Ed.D. and compare them.

DAT

What is the DAT

The DAT is a post professional degree program. It's a clinical doctorate stands for Doctorate of Athletic Training.

Most of the programs that are currently across the country are focused on clinical education, advanced clinical education and clinical leadership, but I kind of looked at in a different light so I tend to look at it as a metaphysical idea

It's a mindset to meet the gap is a commitment to the profession to be the leader and push forward.

  • Promote advanced practice leadership
  • Promote us as a profession as healthcare providers
  • Helping lead the profession forward

We understand that's a hard thing to do, but we can do hard things and the DAT is a commitment to that mindset to continue doing what's right for the profession and moving it forward.

– Dr. Matthew Drescher

What would I expect out of my DAT education?

The beauty of the post professional degree, is that it can be marketed to the market. So, all of the programs, hit on the same central tenets, but they all do them in a different way.

When you're thinking about going into this level of education, it's really about aligning that with your values.

Part what I learned in the ISU DAT was really how to be a clinical leader, what it looks like to be that person, the person who does hard things, the person who asks the hard questions.

Promoting yourself as a lifelong learner, that's something that I value immensely. Some other programs focus on different aspects.

At ISU we focus a lot on manual therapy and advanced manual therapy skills, some programs focus on more of the leadership aspect. Or they focus on what we call practice-based research, but each program has a little bit of a nuance.

What you would expect from a DAT program is that mindset of thinking differently.  

The DAT should help make changes at the system level. How do you think that that helps me get Athletic Trainers into the intermediate setting?

I think you make a really good point. I guess you could call it the clout, having that title of Dr. Jackson would bring.

But part of that mindset of the DAT is that it's not really about the degree to the outside world.

It's, an easier concept to understand that you're a doctor versus You're not a doctor but when you're with,

The concept is not necessarily the clout, but it's the skill and the knowledge to be able to make the changes to know the steps to how those changes have to be made. You can't just run in and say, put an athletic trainer here, please. It's knowing how to line up all of the blocks to work with you and that's what I mean more about a systems level change.

Because at that level, the systems are dynamic, and they're complex, so being able to know how to speak that language to align the blocks to prove that value and worth. That's something, those are skills that the DAT degree can give you.

On top of the confidence and credibility that the degree itself carries, I would argue that your experience carries a lot, but you are also going to have to explain what that means to someone who's not familiar with athletic training, whereas the degree on top of your experience and then on top of that, those skills are going to help you carry that effort.

I look at it more of like a medium to carry the skill versus a be all end all.

Check out the podcast or video for more questions and answers about the ISU DAT program.

Contact Us:

Matthew – Email: mdrescher@sycamores.indstate.edu 

Twitter: @Matt_Drescher

IG: @Dreschem

ISU DAT:

IG: @indianastatedat

Twitter: @isuathltraining

Jeremy: @MrJeremyJackson

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

Diversity and Inclusion in AT Leadership – 615

Ever been the only white person in the room? How about your college program?

Eva Martinez says as a brown woman in Athletic Training she longs to see more diversity and inclusion in leadership. She wants to see people like her in leadership.

Diversity and Inclusion; Eva Martinez; Marco Nunez

What is your Diversity and Inclusion story?

Have you been excluded from conversations because you did not fit the mold for the current leadership style?

Are you like Sofia and never really felt excluded or like there was a ceiling to your ability?

Do you get fired up when someone makes an off-color comment, let it slide or find a way to educate?

Diversity and inclusion; John Ciecko;

Find the Similarities

Sometimes people make comments because they are intentionally hurtful, but sometimes they are just ignorant.

I said something about going to a polish festival and used the word “polak” while talking to my wife. I read a book where the main character was Polish and referred to himself as a “Polak” so I thought it was normal…until she told me the word is derogatory.

If I had said this to a polish person it may have ended very differently.

Continuing to use the term after learning the meaning would be intentional. I have only used the term to tell the story since that day.

In your quest for Diversity and Inclusion be quick to extend grace and offer a chance for education and change.

Watch the talk on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/sportsmedicinebroadcast/videos/192284961862124/

Contact Us

Marco Nunez – marcoanunez@msn.com

Eva Martinez – emart430@fiu.edu

John Ciecko – jciecko@bloomfield.org

Jeremy Jacksoninfo@sportsmedicinebroadcast.com

Resources

Brown Eyes & Caramel Thighs Podcast

Partners

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

Challenging the Status Quo – 590

Kent Games Coaching is all about challenging the status quo. He was one of the youngest professors to be offered tenure. Kent was obtaining his dream job at his alma mater.

But that wasn't enough. He still felt empty.

Challenging the Status Quo

Dr. Kent Games began evaluating his life through these questions:

  • Did I LIVE?
  • Did I LOVE?
  • Did I MATTER?

Alisha is always growing and challenging the status quo

If you follow Alisha Pennington, owner of ATvantage, on social media she readily admits to her lack of confidence, her need for approval, her attempts to hide doubts and fears.

She has learned to embrace those doubts and fears and test them.

Live from NATA 2019

DragonflyMax hosted the podcast lounge again this year and we had a phenomenal team of hosts and workers to put on a fantastic show.

Kent and Alisha answer three big questions:

  • Why
  • How
  • What

Following the Simon Sinek book Start With Why and the follow up Find Your Why Kent and Alisha work through the foundation of what it takes to challenge the status quo.

Some bits of knowledge from the conversation:

Finding your why is as much about what it is is NOT as is it about what it IS

As professionals, we find there is not one cookie-cutter path, but as students, we are often lead to believe that A+B+C = D and that is how it should work.

The more you give your self permission to listen and explore that quiet whisper the louder your why will become. We are trained to tune it out and follow the leader.

Alisha kept pressing forward looking for that feeling of “I have arrived” but it was never there. She came to learn it is about the journey and not the destination.

Ther are many more helpful and insightful lessons form the podcast. listen to it as many times as you need to.

How are you CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO?

Tweet us pictures of how you are challenging the status Quo #ChallengeStatusQuo to @MrJeremyJackson @MrsAMPennington @GamesKenneth

https://www.facebook.com/sportsmedicinebroadcast/videos/482839975847435/

Contact Us

Jeremy Jackson

Jeremy JacksonHost of The Sports Medicine Broadcast

John Ciecko – jciecko@bloomfield.org

Alisha M Penningtonalisha@theatvantage.com

Mike McKenney – m.mckenney@northeastern.edu

Mike Hopper – Mike.Hopper@bishoplynch.org

Clint Sanders – clint@dragonflyathletics.com

These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast:

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products.

Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school)

HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST

MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast.

Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better.

Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.

Doctorate of Athletic Training with Dr. Sauers – 343

Dr. Eric Sauers leads the DAT program at AT still university in Arizona.  Here we get an overview of the program, the purpose and some of the outcomes they are expecting.

Check out their online DAT program designed for the professional practicing Athletic Trainer

We also discuss the future of education and thank some of the athletic trainers who have helped shape us in the clinicians or educators we are.

Show Notes 343

YouTube 343

At the 2017 NATA convention be sure to come by the Frio Hydration booth and say hi or be part of a live broadcast.

Don't miss a chance to win a School Health gift card from the Sports edicine Broadcast