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Athletic Trainers

Evaluate and treat musculoskeletal injuries or illnesses. Provide preventive, therapeutic, emergency, and rehabilitative care.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Collaborate with physicians to develop and implement comprehensive rehabilitation programs for athletic injuries.
    • Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.
    • Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries.
    • Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.
    • Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.
    • Travel with athletic teams to be available at sporting events.
    • Advise athletes on the proper use of equipment.
    • Conduct an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to provide emergency or continued care and to determine whether they should be referred to physicians for definitive diagnosis and treatment.
    • Collaborate with physicians to develop and implement comprehensive rehabilitation programs for athletic injuries.
    • File athlete insurance claims and communicate with insurance providers.
    • Lead stretching exercises for team members prior to games or practices.
    • Perform team support duties, such as running errands, maintaining equipment, or stocking supplies.
    • Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.
    • Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.
    • Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.
    • Conduct research or provide instruction on subject matter related to athletic training or sports medicine.
    • Confer with coaches to select protective equipment.
    • Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.
    • Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.
    • Apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists.
    • Accompany injured athletes to hospitals.
    • Massage body parts to relieve soreness, strains, or bruises.
    • Inspect playing fields to locate any items that could injure players.
    • Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.
    • Develop training programs or routines designed to improve athletic performance.
    • Recommend special diets to improve athletes' health, increase their stamina, or alter their weight.
    • Accompany injured athletes to hospitals.
    • Perform team support duties, such as running errands, maintaining equipment, or stocking supplies.
    • Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.
    • Plan or implement comprehensive athletic injury or illness prevention programs.
    • Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.
    • Travel with athletic teams to be available at sporting events.
    • Teach sports medicine courses to athletic training students.
    • Lead stretching exercises for team members prior to games or practices.
    • Conduct research or provide instruction on subject matter related to athletic training or sports medicine.

    Skills

    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    Abilities

    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.

    Knowledge

    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    Education

    Education
    Master's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    60350/yr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    820
    Yearly Projected Openings
    80

    Personality

    Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Empathy
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Self-Control
    • Social Orientation
    • Cooperation
    • Integrity

    Tools

    • Arm orthopedic softgoods
    • Canes
    • Cervical collars or neck braces
    • Climbing devices for rehabilitation or therapy
    • Cross trainers
    • Crutches
    • Desktop computers
    • Dynamometers
    • Electromyography EMG units
    • Electronic blood pressure units
    • Facial shields
    • Fitness weights
    • Full body immersion hydrotherapy baths or tanks
    • Goniometers or arthrometers
    • Gymnastic bars or beams
    • Knee therapeutic brace or support
    • Leg orthopedic softgoods
    • Medical exam or non surgical procedure gloves
    • Medical hydrocollators
    • Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
    • Mobile medical services litter
    • Mobile medical services spine boards
    • Mobile resuscitator or aspirator kits
    • Notebook computers
    • Orthopedic splint systems
    • Oxygen therapy delivery system products
    • Patient care beds for specialty care
    • Patient floor scales
    • Pedal exercisers for rehabilitation or therapy
    • Pelvis or back traction supplies
    • Personal computers
    • Psychrometers
    • Pulse oximeter units
    • Resistance bands
    • Resistance tubes
    • Rowing machines
    • Safety helmets
    • Skinfold calipers
    • Therapeutic balls
    • Therapeutic heating or cooling pads or compresses or packs
    • Therapeutic paraffin baths
    • Traction splint sets
    • Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units
    • Treadmill exercisers for rehabilitation or therapy
    • Two way radios
    • Ultrasonic therapy apparatus or supplies
    • Weight machines for rehabilitation or therapy

    Technology

    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software