The Scavenger Hunt: An Educational Technique for Preceptors and Athletic Training Students

• Preceptors play a vital role in preparing athletic training students for entry into the profession.

• Mentorship is critical to professional development of athletic training students.

• Programs should empower preceptors to function as mentors by helping to create activities outside of normal clinical skills–building.

Within athletic training education, attention has been placed on didactic and clinical skills; however, transitioning into clinical practice requires more attention. Newly credentialed athletic trainers (ATs) have cited the difficulty in independent decision-making, communication, role ambiguity, and mentor inaccessibility as challenging in transitioning to practice.¹  To best navigate the transition, a mentor would help new ATs foster continuing education and become socialized into the postgraduation workplace. A mentor's role is to guide a novice into greater areas of expertise.²  This can start before graduation; research has shown that athletic training students (ATSs) perceive mentors as those who provide support and understanding, advance their clinical practice, and allow for the development of career goals, with the ATSs often identifying preceptors as their mentors.²  Having mentoring relationships is imperative for producing competent, confident ATs who can serve their patients and “give back” to the profession as effective mentors later in their careers.³  Creating an opportunity for the ATSs to see professional behaviors in action and to learn to develop communication skills with future colleagues can be one way to highlight effective mentoring, networking, and communication.

For ATs, meetings offer broad opportunities for engagement and professional development. Found at the local, state, district, and national levels, these meetings provide ATSs with a means to expand their professional circle beyond their home institution. The ATSs may be unaware of the purpose, meaningfulness, and scope of activities available at a meeting. Though important, many meetings provide information sessions, poster and oral sessions, career development workshops, and a hospitality suite specifically targeting students, all of which may unintentionally sequester the ATSs from the rest of the conference attendees. By providing guidance to the ATSs regarding the range of offerings at any meeting, a plan of action from a well-trusted source could offer better engagement for the student.

Attending a conference with no direction can be overwhelming and intimidating, especially at a national level; a plan of action would provide structure for a first-time participant. Having structure is critical for the experience to be positive, rewarding, and educational. A directed, fun, educational way to learn how to experience and maneuver the convention is important. Providing an outline showcasing events, individuals, education, and opportunities allows the ATSs to feel empowered, energetic, and excited to learn, engage, and plan.

Scavenger hunts have become popular for college students⁴  in various formats including those for instructional design,⁵  orientation to campus libraries,⁶  and games to advocate for diversity.⁷  Within athletic training, one scavenger hunt has been described, but it was a campus scavenger hunt used in working with elementary school children.⁸  Similar to a design presented to chemistry students,⁹  the scavenger hunt being described herein was created by a preceptor for a professional-level ATS attending the National Athletic Trainers' Association Clinical Symposium and AT Expo during her immersive rotation. This project did not need research ethics approval, according to the institution where the educational technique was conducted and following the 2019 requirements of the Common Rule and the federal definition of research. During this rotation, both the preceptor and the ATS attended the conference, which provided an opportunity for the former to challenge the traditional role of preceptor. As in all scavenger hunts, the ATS was charged with completing specific items on a list (Table 1). Before this activity, the ATS discussed her goals and areas of improvement with her preceptor over several meetings to outline thoughts, ideas, and opportunities for the semester. Together, the ATS and preceptor created specific learning goals to achieve in this experience: (1) to gain confidence when maneuvering around a large educational platform and maximize learning potential, (2) to experience a conference with set purposes to accomplish objectives such as finding potential future mentors to increase exposure within the profession, (3) to increase exposure to potential volunteer opportunities within the athletic training profession by attending some of the committee breakout sessions, meetings, and social gatherings, and (4) to describe how these exposures would affect personal future goals.

This particular ATS was in her immersive affiliation in the final year of her Master of Science in Athletic Training program. Preparation for the activity included discussions on interacting with other professionals, providing business cards for future connections, and developing relationships. Together, the preceptor and ATS outlined areas of interest and areas of learning relevant to the specific immersive-experience site (ie, interdisciplinary concussion work, orthopaedic surgery, and postoperative rehabilitation). Before the conference, the preceptor provided the following:

• Business cards for the ATS

• A review of professional conference attire, attendance, and value

• A schedule (Table 1) for the ATS that included mandatory attendance at events and specific vendors to visit and with enough flexibility for the ATS to choose sessions of interest

Together, the ATS and preceptor created scavenger hunt tasks for the student to complete while attending the conference. Before the creation of tasks, the ATS reflected on her individual goals. This included expanding her network experiences to have an impact on professional growth. For example, while attending sessions and visiting the exhibit hall, the ATS would exchange business cards with people to build her professional network. There was an agreement between the preceptor and ATS that these interactions needed to have value. The ATS learned how to interact and make authentic connections with the AT or vendor, rather than just briefly exchanging business cards or introductions. For this assignment, the preceptor identified specific individuals tied to the ATS's career goals and other leaders in the profession. These individuals were a “must meet” for the conference, and the list was meant to allow the ATS to interact with various people from across the country with different skill sets. In addition, the ATS needed to triple the amount of individuals she was assigned. The ATS and preceptor met throughout the conference to debrief and check on the progress of the assignment.

Postconference, the ATS and preceptor debriefed and reviewed attainment of goals, reflections on the overall experience, and identification of future professional development opportunities. As a part of this experience, the ATS was required to send a written thank-you to everyone she met and with whom she had exchanged business cards. Reflecting upon the experience, the preceptor and ATS described the advantages and opportunities for growth (Table 2).

The ATS reported the activity to be “an incredible experience.” Before the convention, she had trepidation of it being overwhelming, but experiencing it with directional guidance proved rewarding and exciting. After this experience, the ATS articulated specific areas of growth, including a higher comfort level in making decisions and navigating a large conference with specific goals. She also stated that she was able to lead while learning, by encouraging her fellow ATSs to participate with her. Through this experience, she described an increased awareness of the importance of learning objectives and planning in continuing education.

The preceptor noted growth in the overall confidence level of the student, based on a comparison of discussions preconvention and postconvention. This experience was created by reflecting with the student on her personal career goals, which was made easier by the open working relationship they had cultivated from the beginning. The ATS was aware of the mentoring advice, in addition to the assignment showcasing the need for mentoring throughout her career. Together, there was open communication about precepting and mentoring and how they should complement each other. The transition from preceptor to mentor was initiated 2 weeks before the activity and developed into the continuous mentoring relationship it is today.

The preceptor described a fun and rewarding experience, particularly because she was able to stay 2 to 3 steps ahead of the ATS. By “planting” people, ideas, and opportunities for the ATS, the ATS gained knowledge beyond that initially anticipated. A positive was the reward of watching an ATS learn and grasp experiences and professional culture at a rapid-fire pace. Preceptors need to decide the amount of time and effort they are willing to spend to create this activity, including finding individuals from their own professional networks to participate. Although it took commitment and effort to create the event, it also allowed the preceptor's view of the convention to be altered, seeing it through the student's eyes and looking for more opportunities to create learning experiences. The preceptor compared this project with “being on a field trip that lasted more than 1 day.” They were able to connect regularly throughout the convention, yet stay to their own schedules. The preceptor was willing to adapt if the experience was not what was hoped for the ATS or if the ATS was overwhelmed by her encounters.

Overall, success was evaluated in 2 ways. Objectively, the ATS handed in a finished checklist of items completed, plus extra “bonuses” given to her during the week. Subjectively, her belief of the experience was positive, especially due to her list of professional contacts (vendors, speakers), as well as the list of individuals she needed to meet and communicate with postconvention. As with many experiences, the ATS formed many connections, in part, by the simple requirement of trading business cards. Of those exchanges, the ATS estimated approximately 20% have become “meaningful” for her new experiences in her professional setting.

During the postconference debriefing the ATS said she was amazed at the response from those with whom she spoke. This could be attributed to the preceptor's personal experience of whom the ATS should meet and in devising goals to be accomplished. One important lesson the preceptor learned for future scavenger hunts was the importance of being more specific in her requests (eg, sending written thank-you notes in the mail versus a quick email) because the ATS needed some direction from the preceptor. The debriefing questions allowed the preceptor and ATS to better understand the positive aspects of the activity as well as what could be improved for future participation.

This scavenger hunt activity can be used at a conference or meeting and scaled appropriately to the event. It can also be easily adaptable to a virtual experience if students are unable to attend conferences in person. The Internet has a plethora of educational material for future ATs. Additionally, this activity can be incorporated into an orientation to the program, in a leadership course, or as a way to learn more about the profession. Using cameras to take pictures, email to contact leaders in the profession, and the Internet to search for National Athletic Trainers' Association trivia can all be educational for the ATSs.

The learning objectives were a joint effort and should be created as such. Based on what the ATS wanted to gain from attending the conference, the preceptor focused on a unique way to have the ATS gain experience, become involved in the profession, and learn about the experiences of those who have been in the profession for many years.

Should the preceptor have more than 1 ATS, this could become more complex when trying to meet with the students throughout the event. In addition, at a smaller conference, the ATs and vendors may feel overwhelmed at the number of requests coming from ATSs. Therefore, having a group project may be more effective in this case.

A scavenger hunt for orienting ATSs to a national meeting both familiarizes and engages the ATSs at the meeting. The scavenger hunt can be flexible and can be adapted to any venue, such as modifications for a district meeting. Regardless of the site, the ATSs can participate in similar activities, albeit at a smaller level.

Effective mentoring is important for socialization as a professional and is often a challenge for entry-level ATs to find.^1,10  However, being a mentor is not an innate attribute and there should not be an assumption that all preceptors understand how to be mentors for their ATSs. This scavenger hunt is a sample activity a preceptor could use to increase confidence and give the ATS a sense of support by helping to develop a professional network beyond the current clinical setting. Research has shown that discussing professional behaviors was most helpful for preparing an AT to communicate professionally.¹¹  Reaching out to leaders during the scavenger hunt can help the ATS to have these discussions and can provide more than what a guest lecturer may provide. Therefore, the ATS may be able to identify someone who more closely aligns with their goals, which is important for their future.

Encouraging preceptors to find events that help them become better preceptors will not only increase the satisfaction of the ATSs but also increase the ability to socialize the entry-level ATs. The ATSs with preceptors who provide mentorship during clinical education experiences beyond the clinical setting ultimately are more likely to envision themselves in the role of an AT.¹²