Athletic Trainer Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an athletic trainer. Feel free to use our athletic trainer job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an athletic trainer.
Who is an Athletic Trainer?
Athletic trainers (ATs) are healthcare professionals who work alongside doctors. Athletic trainers provide injury and medical condition prevention, emergency treatment, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation services. As required by state license statutes, athletic trainers work under the supervision of physicians.
Athletic trainers are multi-skilled healthcare professionals who fall under the allied health professions category as defined by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers are assigned to athletic trainers, and the taxonomy code for athletic trainers is 2255A2300X. Athletic trainers are classified as “professional and allied occupations” by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They work in the healthcare field at a mid-level.
Athletic Trainer Job Description
Below are the athletic trainer job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write an athletic trainer job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The job description of an athletic trainer includes all of the following:
- Provide job site injury evaluation, and prompt care, and assist with the referral of injured personnel. If noted, requests appropriate referrals for other assistance (i.e., orthotics) in accordance with generally accepted principles and best practices of athletic training services,
- Develops and maintains injury prevention programming for all trades on the job site, including daily stretching protocols, ergonomic assessments, and the creation of home exercise regimens, among other things.
- Communicate, cooperate with and provide support to various on-site trades, construction safety managers, and construction management in a timely and courteous manner.
- Participate in ongoing education, services, and other learning opportunities to maintain competency. All required competency reviews are completed to the highest standards.
- Adhere to moral and ethical norms of behavior to ensure safe sports programs and to reduce injury and disease risk factors to the greatest extent.
- Provide injured athletes with specific equipment and supervises their use.
- Applie tapes, braces, and other protective devices in accordance with accepted and documented anatomical biomechanical principles.
- Respond quickly and independently to emergencies and makes decisions about how to treat injuries.
- Identifies acute injuries and administers first-aid triage, which includes assessing injuries and determining whether an athlete should withdraw from the athletic event and seek additional medical attention.
- Determine individual student athletes’ therapeutic goals and objectives.
- Teache athletes how to use workout equipment properly.
- Assess and documents athletes’ rehabilitation progress.
- Establish criteria for progression and return to practice and competition.
- Adhere to professional, ethical, and legal guidelines when it comes to the use of pharmaceuticals and therapeutic agents for the treatment and rehabilitation of injured athletes.
- Arrange for athletic physical checks and screenings to be scheduled.
- Compile, maintain, and file all physical and electronic records, reports, and other documents, such as medical, accident, and treatment records.
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of current and emerging sports medicine theories and practices, and disseminates that knowledge to appropriate district staff.
- Develop and maintain positive working relationships with the athletics department, coaches, medical and paramedical workers, and parents in the district.
- Coordinate a complete athletic training program for students.
- Ensure that the student athletic trainer’s handbook is followed.
- Guarantee that student athletic trainers adhere to HIPPA and privacy laws.
Qualifications of an Athletic Trainer
Several factors can influence your ability to obtain a career in athletic training and, ultimately, your success as an athletic trainer. Employers look for people who have a formal and informal educational background (including BOC certification) as well as a show of other talents and traits acquired via experience as well as formal educational courses. The following is a list of prerequisites for working as an athletic trainer.
- A bachelor’s degree in a health-related discipline
- A master’s degree in a health-related discipline would be advantageous.
- Two (2) or more years of experience in a similar field.
- Athletic Trainer Certification (ATC).
- A state-issued license to practice.
- Excellent communication abilities both orally and in writing.
- Working knowledge of medical jargon.
- cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Essential Skills
Let’s look at the talents that an athletic trainer requires to be effective in the workplace.
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a medical treatment in which a patient’s chest is compressed to assist them to breathe. This artificial ventilation aids in maintaining brain function and blood circulation throughout the body. CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a life-saving procedure that is performed in an emergency.
- Concern for the patient: The diagnosis, recovery, and control of illness, as well as the maintenance of physical and mental well-being through the utilization of healthcare providers’ services, are all part of patient care. Patient care is defined as services offered to patients under the supervision of health practitioners or non-professionals.
On athletic trainer resumes, patient care is expressed in the following ways:
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- Ensuring high-quality patient care, developing and implementing rehabilitation programs, and following required documentation procedures.
- Assisting the proprietor of a private practice physical therapy clinic with patient care for orthopedic rehabilitation.
- Completing over a hundred hours of clinical and field practice in injury rehabilitation and prevention for collegiate athletes.
- Assisting local high schools with athletic training through community outreach,
- Assisting the physical therapy team with patient treatment.
- Adhering to all legal aspects of patient care activities, guidelines, rules, and procedures that have an impact on practice.
- Active Listening – paying full attention to what others are saying, taking the time to understand what they’re saying, asking questions when necessary, and not interrupting at inopportune moments.
- Monitoring – Keeping track of your own, other people’s, or organizations’ performance in order to make adjustments or take remedial action.
- Critical Thinking – Identifying the strengths and limitations of alternate solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems using logic and reasoning.
- Speaking – Effectively communicating information to others through conversation.
- Writing – Communicating successfully in writing in a manner that is appropriate for the audience’s needs.
- Social Perceptiveness – Being aware of other people’s reactions and comprehending why others behave in the way they do.
- Active Learning – Recognizing how new information affects present and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Service Orientation – Constantly seeking methods to assist others.
- Decision Making and Judgment – Considering the relative costs and benefits of many options in order to select the best one.
- Reading Comprehension – Recognizing written sentences and paragraphs in materials linked to work.
- Instructing – demonstrating to others how to perform a task.
- Coordination – Aligning one’s actions with those of another.
- Time management is the ability to manage one’s own time as well as the time of others.
- Learning Strategies – When learning or teaching new things, select and implement training/instructional methods and processes that are appropriate for the scenario.
- Systems Analysis – Identifying how a system should function and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation – Identifying system performance metrics or indicators, as well as the activities required to improve or correct performance in relation to the system’s goals.
- Ability to solve difficult problems – Identifying and examining related information to design, analyze, and execute solutions to complex challenges.
- Personnel Resource Management – Identifying the best people for the job and motivating, developing, and leading them as they work.
- Quality Control Analysis – Testing and inspecting items, services, or processes in order to assess their quality or performance.
- Science – Solving issues using scientific laws and procedures.
- Operation Monitoring – Observing gauges, dials, or other signs to ensure that a machine is in proper functioning order.
- Negotiation – bringing people together and attempting to resolve conflicts.
Steps to Becoming an Athletic Trainer
Below are five steps to becoming an athletic trainer, read carefully to get the details:
- Get your bachelor’s degree (4 Years)
A bachelor’s degree from a recognized athletic training institution is required of licensed athletic trainers. If not, they must meet the Board of Certification’s other requirements.
These educational programs are divided into five categories:
- Prevention
- Diagnosis and clinical evaluation
- Immediate and Urgent Assistance
- Rehabilitation & Treatment
- Professional Health, Organization, and Well-Being
- Obtain the necessary certifications and licenses
You must pass the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer’s certification exam in order to become a Certified Athletic Trainer. The certification fee varies depending on whether you’re a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA).
Non-members pay $50, while members pay $34. The exam is given five times a year, with each window lasting approximately two weeks.
Exam results are uploaded in BOC CentralTM and mailed via bocatc.org 2-4 weeks after the exam session closes.
- Think about pursuing a master’s degree (2 Years)
Although a master’s degree is not required for admittance into the industry, your chances are substantially greater with one than with a bachelor’s.
If you plan to pursue a master’s degree, you should strive to maintain a good GPA during your undergraduate studies, as most graduate institutions need a minimum of a 3.0 to be considered. A 3.4-3.8 GPA is good.
- Keep your certifications up to date with continuous education.
During their certification maintenance period, athletic trainers must maintain a specified number of continuing education units (CEUs).
Trainers who were qualified before 2014 must earn 50 CEUs, with at least 10 CEUs in Evidence-Based Practice. Those who graduated in or after 2014 must earn a total of 25 CEUs, with at least 5 CEUs in Evidence-Based Practice.
Where to Work
Many athletic trainers work in settings other than athletics, providing services such as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) to people of all ages. Athletic trainers work in the following places:
- Physician offices- Here athletic trainers work with nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, and other clinical professionals.
- Hospitals in rural and urban areas, as well as emergency departments and urgent and ambulatory care clinics.
- Sports medicine, cardiac rehabilitation, medical fitness, wellness, and physical therapy clinics.
- In business environments, such as manufacturing, distribution, and offices, occupational health departments can help with ergonomics.
- Police and fire departments, as well as academics, municipal departments, and military units.
- Secondary schools, colleges, and universities, as well as professional and Olympic sports.
- Youth sports leagues, municipals, and independently owned youth sports facilities.
Athletic Trainer Salary Scale
As of December 27, 2021, the average Athletic Trainer income in the United States is $50,833, however, the range frequently falls between $46,530 and $56,057. As an athletic trainer, your salary varies based on your schooling, certifications, supplementary talents, and the number of years you’ve worked in your field. In the United Kingdom, the maximum annual income for an athletic trainer is £41,542, while the lowest annual compensation is £13,361.