Exploring Senior Level Athletic Training Students' Perceptions on Burnout and Work-Life Balance

Context: The professional socialization process enables athletic training students (ATSs) to gain insights into behaviors, values, and attitudes that characterize their chosen profession. However, the process often focuses on skill development over professional issues. ATSs may be exposed to burnout and work-life conflict, which may impact their professional perceptions. Objective: Examine the cumulative impact of professional socialization on the ATS regarding their perceptions of burnout and work-life balance. Design: Qualitative research. Setting: Semistructured interviews with 6 individuals and 4 focus groups. Patients or Other Participants: Twenty-three ATSs enrolled in their final semester of Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education-accredited programs at 5 universities (9 male, 14 female; average age = 22 years). Main Outcome Measure(s): Data collection occurred from 2 cohorts over a 2-year period. Participants completed focus group or individual interviews following the same interview guide. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. A general inductive analysis was used to evaluate the data. Themes were enumerated by counting the frequency with which a viewpoint was mentioned. Not all students answered each question. Member checks and a peer review established data credibility. Results: Three major themes emerged from our analysis, where ATSs reported (1) perceiving burnout, (2) recognizing burnout in their preceptors and professors, and (3) that work-life imbalance may be a challenge in the future. Athletic training students described experiencing feelings they attributed to burnout while recognizing similar signs in classmates and preceptors or professors, and acknowledged that having a family could be difficult in the future. Conclusions: Despite these seemingly negative findings, this group of ATSs was not influenced to leave the profession. Observing their preceptors use strategies and positive behaviors gave them hope for the future. Professionals must understand the importance of appropriate socialization when students are exposed to potentially negative situations so they remain optimistic about entering the field.