Florida International University’s (FIU) Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences has introduced the first Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT) program in the southeast U.S.
Clinical Associate Professor Shawn Dale Felton, EdD, ATC, LAT, was appointed as the new chair of the Department of Athletic Training to oversee the launch of the DAT program, which is one of only six in the country.
The DAT program is the academic progression of the Athletic Training profession toward higher levels of clinical, evidence-based practice, research and leadership. The goals of the program are to develop athletic trainers who actively contribute to expanding their skills, knowledge and clinical abilities through applied research. Students will apply advanced clinical skills to improve patient outcomes, and proactively develop and implement injury and illness prevention strategies to become health care innovators.
Dr. Felton succeeds founding FIU Athletic Training chair Jennifer Doherty-Restrepo, PhD, ATC, LAT, who spearheaded the establishment of the DAT. He joins FIU having most recently been a faculty member in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he served on the board of trustees and as president of the faculty senate.
Dr. Felton’s professional academic and clinical career began as a graduate assistant at the University of Louisville in 2001, serving as an assistant football athletic trainer directing the comprehensive medical care of more than 110 student athletes. He also was the athletic training coordinator for Naples Community Hospitals (2004-05) supervising a staff of nine individuals to provide athletic training to Collier County Public Schools.
“Dr. Felton’s administrative leadership experience, clinical expertise and body of research will build on the foundation Dr. Doherty-Restrepo set to drive FIU Athletic Training to national prominence and provide our students with the highest-level of education and research opportunities to excel in their careers,” said Ora L Strickland, PhD, DSc (Hon.), RN, FAAN, Dean of the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
The FIU Athletic Training Department will continue to offer the Master of Science in Athletic Training along with the DAT. For more information on the DAT program, visit https://cnhs.fiu.edu/at/index.html.
