Curriculum

The program is delivered using a combination of online learning and intensive hands-on learning. This program is intended for certified, licensed athletic trainers who are currently engaged in clinical practice. The 60-credit program can be completed in 6 semesters (24 months) of continuous full-time enrollment, or may be completed part-time. Most courses are offered in 8-week blocks, so students are enrolled in no more than 2 courses concurrently.

Course Categories

On-Demand Courses (6 credits) (must be completed before enrollment in any other DAT courses)
HLAT 711: Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice Concepts 
HLAT 775: Introduction to Evidence-Based Therapeutic Interventions 

*You may request to replace 1 course from any of the categories where 15 credits are required. This request must be submitted in writing and approved by the Program Director before the course is taken for credit.

NOTE: Courses in bold are required

Schedule of Courses

Please note that all courses are offered once every other academic year (for example, Spring 2020, Spring 2022), unless otherwise noted. Courses in bold are required. All other courses are electives, and may be selected to build your customized curriculum.  

Course Descriptions

HLAT 700: Advanced Neurologic Evaluation & Treatment (3 credits)
This course will focus on evidence-based evaluation and treatment of patients with neurologic disorders of the central nervous system. This course requires critical appraisal of neurologic pathology presentation in order to identify appropriate diagnostic and treatment interventions. 

HLAT 701: Entrepreneurship in Sports Medicine (3 credits)
This course is designed to provide the student with the tools necessary to design and sustain an entrepreneurial venture in the area of sports medicine.  Students are asked to view the athletic training profession through the lens of a business owner, rather than as a healthcare employee.  The course will discuss strategies regarding successful business models, business plan development, marketing, finance, and leadership.

HLAT 702: The Athletic Trainer as an Educator (3 credits)
This course will focus on the athletic trainer as an educator, both in the formal role (faculty member) and informal role (preceptor).  Students learn to recognize the unique educational contributions of both didactic and clinical settings, and will learn pedagogical strategies from multiple perspectives.  Essential skills for the classroom, including presentation skills and various pedagogical styles will be introduced.  Essential skills for clinical education, including fostering supervised autonomy and creating teachable moments, will be discussed.

HLAT 710: Healthcare Policy (3 credits)
This course introduces the topic of healthcare policy as it relates to the practice of sports medicine.  Students will be challenged to think critically about the role of athletic training within the broader context of public health. Students will examine healthcare policy from four areas: economics and financing, supply and demand, political and legal, and quality and effectiveness as they relate to preparedness, wellness and provision of medical care. Important ethical questions related to healthcare policy and access to healthcare in relation to the changing political landscape will also be explored.

HLAT 711: Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice Concepts (3 credits)
This course will introduce the student to role and importance of research in the rehabilitation professions.  Critical thinking will be utilized to develop focused clinical questions, and to search existing literature for an answer to these questions.  Course content will include essential research terminology; concepts of diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood radios; clinical prediction rules; basic epidemiology and related statistics; patient-reported outcome measures.

HLAT 712: Epidemiology & Informatics (3 credits)
This course will focus on athletic training within the broader scope of public health.  Students will be challenged to consider athletic training within the broader scope of public health, and to examine injury and recovery through an epidemiological lens with a focus on injury/illness incidence, prevalence, risk ratios, and relative risk reduction. Important ethical questions regarding access to athletic training services in underserved areas will be discussed.  The use of informatics, including electronic medical record software, will also be addressed.  

HLAT 721: Evidence-Based Therapeutic Modalities (3 credits)

This course will extend modality concepts and application beyond entry-level concepts, taking an evidence-based approach to implementation of highly-utilized modalities (ie, ultrasound, electrical stimulation), under-utilized modalities (ie, shortwave diathermy, EMG biofeedback), and evolving modalities (ie, light therapy, extracorporeal shockwave therapy).  The focus will be on underlying concepts and clinical application.

HLAT 750: Evidence-Based Assessment & Intervention for the Lower Extremity (3 credits)
This course will focus on evidence-based evaluation and treatment, including manual therapy interventions, of patients with musculoskeletal and peripheral nervous system disorders of the foot, ankle, knee, and hip. This course requires critical appraisal of lower extremity pathology presentation in order to match appropriate manual therapy interventions.

HLAT 760: Evidence-Based Assessment & Intervention for the Upper Extremity (3 credits)
This course will focus on evidence-based evaluation and treatment, including manual therapy interventions, of patients with musculoskeletal and peripheral nervous system disorders of the shoulder, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand. This course requires critical appraisal of upper extremity pathology presentation in order to match appropriate manual therapy interventions.

HLAT 765: Emerging Practices in Athletic Training (3 credits)
This course will provide an overview of topics related to the athletic trainer working in “nontraditional settings”, including industrial settings, emergency medicine, physician practice, and occupational health, with a focus on patient-centered care and working in interdisciplinary teams.  The concept of interprofessional collaboration will be emphasized, as multiple perspectives across these various settings are introduced.  Essential knowledge and skills related to these emerging practice settings will be addressed.

HLAT 766: Performing Arts Medicine (3 credits)

This course will address prevention and management of common injuries and medical conditions in performing artists including dancers, musicians, and theater artists. Students will be challenged to consider the special medical needs and unique qualifications of the athletic trainer to provide care for active patient populations not generally considered within the narrow traditional definition of “athlete.”

HLAT 770: Evidence-Based Assessment & Intervention for the Spine (3 credits)

This course will focus on evidence-based evaluation and treatment, including manual therapy interventions, of patients with musculoskeletal and central nervous system disorders of the sacroiliac joint, lumbar spine, thoracic spine, cervical spine. This course requires critical appraisal of spinal pathology presentation in order to match appropriate manual therapy interventions.

HLAT 775: Introduction to Evidence-Based Therapeutic Interventions (3 credits)
This course will introduce the student to the most current evidence to support therapeutic interventions in rehabilitation, exercise, manual therapy, and pharmacology. The course will require students to think critically about how these intervention strategies have evolved over time, and how they can be used to improve patient care in the student’s specific clinical practice.

HLAT 780: Summer Institute I (3 credits)
This residency course allows students to complete hands-on education and guided practice of clinical skills under the supervision of full-time and adjunct faculty of the DAT program.  This course is offered during a one-week block each summer.

HLAT 800: Advanced Anatomy (3 credits)
This course will provide an intensive overview of musculoskeletal conditions from an in-depth anatomical perspective. Students will be challenged to consider injury and recovery through a pathophysiology lens using digital technology such as smartphone or tablet applications and a virtual cadaver table. This course will focus on the anatomy as it informs clinical practice.

HLAT 801: Leadership in Athletic Training (3 credits)
This course will focus on leadership skills for the athletic trainer.  The course will discuss differences between leaders and managers, essential communication skills, working as a team, effective delegation strategies, critical decision-making, and facilitating work-life balance amongst supervisees.  Multiple perspectives will be considered, as the course examines various definitions of leadership across various professions.  Leaders in the field of Athletic Training education will make guest appearances in the course.

HLAT 802: Spanish for Health Providers

This course is designed to help health professionals achieve novice to novice-mid Spanish proficiency level (as defined by ACTFL). It will introduce basic and essential medical vocabulary, practical reference information, and medical notes written from a cross-cultural perspective. It will provide students with opportunities to apply the grammatical structure present in everyday situations that may be encountered at healthcare settings dealing with Spanish-speaking patients and personnel in the United States.

HLAT 805: Advances in Emergency and Acute Care for the Sick and Injured (3 credits)
This course will teach athletic trainers advanced theories and skills in the recognition, evaluation, and treatment of emergent conditions. The class will include an update on the current CAATE standards as related to Domain 3 of the BOC Practice Analysis. We will then address new theories, techniques, and technologies in Domain 3.

HLAT 810: Independent Research Inquiry (3 credits)
This course allows students to work with a scholarly mentor to pursue an independent course of research inquiry. This may involve analysis of existing research data, drafting of professional manuscripts or presentation abstracts, or development of a new original research study to answer a clinical question. Students must have this course and the specific learning objectives approved by the Program Director prior to enrollment. This course requires a critical reflection on the objectives at the completion of the course. Please note: this course will run the entire 16-week semester.

HLAT 811: Qualitative Methods and Research Design (3 credits)
This course will overview qualitative research methodology and the process of conducting original qualitative research including experimental design, data collection procedures, research methods, and ethical issues associated with the completion of human subjects research.  The course will require completion of a formal Introduction and Methodology for a proposed original qualitative research study design.

HLAT 812: Evidence-Based Practice: Answering Clinical Questions (3 credits)
This course will focus on answering focused clinical questions, with an emphasis on reading and thinking critically, and writing purposefully.  Course content will include question development using the PICO (PIO, PICOT) framework, recognition and evaluation of various study designs, development of search terms and use of research databases.  The course will require completion of a Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) paper.

HLAT 813: Quantitative Methods and Research Design (3 credits)
This course will overview the process of conducting original research including: development of research hypotheses, use of dependent and independent variables, disablement models, experimental design, data collection procedures, research methods, and ethical issues associated with the completion of human subjects research.  The course will require completion of a formal Introduction and Methodology for a proposed original research study design.

HLAT 814: Evidence-Based Practice: Practice-Based Evidence (3 credits)
This course will allow students to see the impact of implementing practical solutions to improve the delivery of healthcare and health outcomes from multiple perspectives (disease-oriented evidence, patient-oriented evidence) within their patient population.  Course content will focus on methodology, statistical analysis, and result interpretation and discussion.  The course will require implementation of an intervention that is designed to improve patient outcomes, followed by evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention. Pre-requisite: HLAT 813.  Please note: this course will run the entire 16-week semester.

HLAT 815: Clinical Imaging in Sports Medicine (3 credits)
This course will educate students regarding basic interpretation, clinical utility, and diagnostic accuracy of a variety of clinical imaging techniques utilized in sports medicine. Students will be asked to think critically to determine the best imaging technique, given what has been learned about diagnostic accuracy of various tests for various pathologies.

HLAT 822: Sports Nutrition (3 credits)
This course will focus on the underlying concepts of sports nutrition as related to sport performance and optimal wellness for active populations. Areas to be reviewed include macronutrients (Carbohydrates, Lipids and Proteins), micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), practical aspects of hydration, as well as special topics of nutritional implications for active populations.  All topics will take an evidence-based approach to the content and be reviewed beyond an elementary understanding of each area. 

HLAT 825: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Athletic Training 
This course is designed to increase the awareness and appreciation of diversity within athletic training and health care. It will examine from perspectives of diverse races, ethnicities, social class, religions, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, and abilities, through an interprofessional intersection of health care. How do we experience and understand diversity and difference? How do diversity and differences shape systems that affect individuals, families, communities, and society? Students will be introduced to cultural humility, culturally specific approaches to practice, and frameworks for equity and empowerment. Students will examine concepts of health and illness, as viewed from the perspective of the patient, the practitioner, and the public. This course prompts students to think critically about ideas of health and medicine as encompassing a range of social issues, like inequitable housing, restricted education, xenophobia, disparate maternal health and inadequate medical facilities, while exploring the dynamics of diversity, privilege, and oppression in domestic and global contexts. Together, course participants will query how a medical system built on racialized and gendered disparity can be reshaped to offer corrective justice for broad social inequity. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical consciousness and to explore ways of empowering to help eliminate ideologies of unequal treatment.

HLAT 860: Medical Conditions in the Physically Active (3 credits)
This course will examine common medical and non-orthopedic conditions in physically active individuals. Students will be challenged to consider evidence-based practice in the evaluation and treatment of these conditions, and will be required to develop policies and procedures related to these conditions in physically active individuals.

HLAT 865: Special Populations in Athletic Training (3 credits)
This course will examine the role of the athletic trainer in provision of care to individuals across the lifespan with varying medical conditions. The course will utilize a critical focus on the unique qualifications of the athletic trainer needed to meet the special medical needs of the pediatric athlete, the female athlete, the pregnant athlete, the senior athlete, the disabled athlete, and the special-needs athlete.

HLAT 878: Psychosocial Issues in Athletic Training (3 credits)  

Psychosocial strategies and referral has been required entry-level content for many years, yet certified athletic trainers continue to struggle with recognizing opportunities to intervene, and with and implementing psychosocial techniques.  This course will take a case-study-based approach to issues including the stress-injury relationship, sport socioculture, emotional response to injury, rehabilitation adherence and return-to-play concerns, mental illness, and psychosocial referral. Students will learn basic psychosocial skills that are designed to enhance the patient’s overall well-being and satisfaction with healthcare, and will be asked to reflect on their experiences implementing these techniques with patients in their own clinical practice setting.  

HLAT 880: Summer Institute II (3 credits)
This residency course allows students to complete hands-on education and guided practice of clinical skills under the supervision of full-time and adjunct faculty of the DAT program.  This course is offered during a one-week block each summer.

HLAT 881: Advanced Clinical Practice (3 credits)
This course allows students to identify a clinical mentor within a desired area of practice to assist in identifying knowledge and clinical practice gaps.  Students may also opt to complete a clinical residency at a site different than their employment setting in order to obtain a different perspective of the role of the certified athletic trainer. Students must have this course and the specific learning objectives approved by the Program Director prior to enrollment.  This course requires a critical reflection on the objectives at the completion of the course. This course can be repeated twice. Please note: this course will run the entire 16-week semester.