| Hiring is one of the most important aspects of institutional maintenance and growth. Hiring in athletic training is difficult to understand. This is due to a change in 2004 which changed the training of entry-level athletic trainers as well as a lack of research on the most important traits in hiring entry-level athletic trainers.;The population for this study was all the athletic directors, head athletic trainers, and athletic training program directors in the professional organizations of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) DI, NCAA DII, NCAA DIII, and NAIA institutions in the United States. A stratified random sample with equal allocation was conducted including 100 institutions in each group. A researcher-developed survey was sent to the athletic director, head athletic trainer, and athletic training education program director as applicable, and respondents had four weeks to respond.;There were 787 subjects who remained in the study after selection and opt out. There were 408 responses for an overall response rate of 51.8%. Raw data were first analyzed to address the overall perceived importance of each individual component of the survey instrument. However, the ability to determine the differences between groups required a factor analysis. Data reduction led to a three factor solution: Factor 1 was termed Personality Traits, Factor 2 was termed Similarity of Experiences, and Factor 3 was termed Academic and Additional Experiences.;The five observable attributes rated highest were in the following order: Recommendations, Related Work Experience, Master's Degree, Reputation of Clinical Athletic Program, and Post-Graduate Collegiate Athletic Training Experience. The top five non-readily observable attributes were in the following order: Work Ethic, Communication Skills, Motivation/Enthusiasm, Interpersonal Skills, and Initiative. The highest scores for similarity of experiences were Sport-Specific Experiences to Job Duties, Clinical Experience at a Similar Institution, and Clinical Experience in the Same NCAA Division or NAIA. Differences were found between groups based on sex, position, division affiliation, and football conference affiliation.;The results of this study suggest that a more important qualification for the entry-level athletic trainers is the interpersonal skills that made up the non-readily observable traits of the study. |
