MightyRecruiterAthletic trainers play an integral role in facilitating healing, educating about injury prevention and implementing programs and practices to keep athletes performing their best without compromising their safety. Some of their primary responsibilities include recognizing injuries or unusual movements, administering first aid immediately following an injury and debriefing doctors of an athlete’s injury and condition. They are also in charge of coordinating rehabilitation programs and incorporating practices to prevent illness. Other obligations may include basic administrative duties and compliance auditing for athletic programs.
In the Skills section of your athletic trainer job description, focus your attention on competencies like confident decision-making and compassion. Other important qualities include interpersonal skills and attention to detail.
Athletic trainers are required by law to be licensed by a certified athletic training association. This athletic trainer job description template demonstrates how to organize your posting in a way that is informative and persuasive.
Athletic Trainer Job Summary
As an athletic trainer, you will be working as part of a motivated and driven team of professionals in our university’s sports medicine department. You will have the opportunity to work with a variety of athletes from all different backgrounds and at sporting events where your expertise will encourage optimal safety and superior performance. Your skills will be utilized to administer first aid, assess injuries, plan and execute rehabilitation programs and develop policies and procedures to keep athletes healthy and safe. Our athletes will be working closely with you for application or fitting of preventative resources including tape, bandages and braces. Whether you are working directly with an athlete or completing various administrative duties, you have the chance to develop your professional skills, including interpersonal communication, compassion and decision-making abilities.
Job Responsibilities
- Evaluate athletes’ injuries to determine their readiness to participate in sporting events; ensure that all warranted participation clearances are acknowledged and passed
- Recognize injuries and be able to properly assess the cause and type of sprain, break or fracture to recommend the best treatment and be able to apply first aid to stabilize the injury
- Collaborate regularly with doctors and other medical professionals to oversee initial treatment and develop rehabilitation procedures that will expedite healing and provide comfort
- Apply preventative devices to athletes preceding a sporting event and ensure that application won’t affect their ability to play; such devices may include braces, tape or bandages
- Instruct athletes about how to use sporting equipment, incorporate exercises and utilize additional therapies to maximize performance without causing unnecessary strain or injury
- Observe sporting facilities, practice fields and event venues to recognize potential dangers and collaborate with other professionals to correct problems before use by athletes
- Develop and implement diets, personalized athletic training and illness prevention policies to enable athletes to perform at their best
- Oversee basic administrative duties, including injury documentation, filing insurance claims, updating athlete rosters and managing athletes’ personal medical information
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- Active athletic training license through an accredited association
- Bachelor’s degree in exercise science or related field
- Competent decision-making skills and interpersonal communication
Preferred:
- 3+ years of field experience in working with athletes
- Compassionate and outgoing personality
Athletic Trainer Job Responsibilities
Before getting started on your athletic trainer job description, you should plan to spend a healthy amount of time on the job responsibilities section. This is what will first garner the attention of jobseekers and is also their initial impression of what to expect from the position’s daily functions. As such, this section should be well-written and organized in a way that is easy to read. One of the most important pieces of advice is to omit the job’s lesser tasks. This section should include only the everyday, primary functions of the position and nothing else.
You should always organize this section into a bulleted format. This helps pare down an otherwise bulky block of text and makes your athletic trainer job description easy for jobseekers to skim. Keep the number of bullets between four and eight to avoid overwhelming jobseekers, and make sure to begin each one with a powerful verb. This helps people visualize themselves in the position performing the daily duties.
Check out these examples of well-worded athletic trainer job responsibilities:
- Instruct athletes on proper form and use of equipment
- Provide care for injuries using physical therapy techniques and equipment
- Consult with coaches about effective protection equipment
- Evaluate athletes’ preparedness and express approval or disapproval when needed
Athletic Trainer Job Specifications
From the outset, it’s easy to look at the job qualifications and skills section of your athletic trainer job description and assume it will be simple to write. After all, it’s nothing more than a list of basic requirements for applicants such as academic credentials, certifications and hard or soft skills.
Though it’s understandable, dismissing this section out of hand is a grievous mistake. This list is one of the most important areas of your athletic trainer job description because it keeps unfit candidates from applying. In contrast, if you write this section poorly, you can count on your email inbox filling up with unqualified applications.
Rather than spending hours weeding through resumes and applications from unqualified candidates, sit down with your senior leadership before writing this section to understand what they expect from applicants. This will go a long way toward helping you craft a clearly written, easy-to-read document. Unfit jobseekers will be more deterred from applying if they can clearly understand they don’t meet the qualifications. To further clarify the standards, separate any non-negotiable skills or qualifications from ones that are merely preferred.
Here are some athletic trainer job specifications for your reference:
- Comprehensive knowledge of sports medicine, physical therapy and nutrition
- Bachelor’s degree or higher, preferably in physical therapy or sports medicine
- At least 5 years’ experience in a related field
- Strong communication skills to work effectively with clients
