JobsAdvocate Health

Team Lead Clinical Athletic Trainer

Advocate Health · Aurora, IL

Posted Sep 3, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

Behavioral

Tell me about a time you had to lead a team of athletic trainers while still carrying your own full patient caseload. How did you split your attention?

whether the candidate has actually operated as a working lead, not just a senior clinician title

Describe a situation where you had to give a peer or someone you supervised difficult performance feedback. How did that conversation go?

comfort with the HR-adjacent parts of the role, since this position touches hiring, feedback, and morale

Tell me about a time two staff members on your team disagreed about how to handle a case or a scheduling issue. How did you resolve it?

conflict resolution skills applied to real staff dynamics, not just theoretical answers

How do you explain a treatment plan or diagnosis to a patient who doesn't have any medical background?

communication skill and use of teach-back methods mentioned in the posting

Tell me about a rehabilitation or outreach program you helped build or lead from the ground up.

experience initiating programs, not just executing existing ones, since program development is a stated responsibility

Technical

A patient comes in for a suture removal and dressing change, but during the visit you notice signs of wound infection. What do you do next?

clinical judgment around post-surgical care and knowing when to escalate to the physician

How would you fit a patient for a piece of durable medical equipment, and how do you make sure they actually understand how to use it before they leave?

hands-on DME competency and patient education skills, called out specifically in the posting

Walk me through how you'd develop an individualized treatment plan for a post-op orthopedic patient and how you'd adjust it if their progress stalled.

clinical reasoning and ability to modify care plans based on patient response

How do you adjust your assessment and communication approach when treating a pediatric patient versus an older adult?

understanding of age-specific care principles required by the department

Situational

Walk me through how you'd onboard a new athletic trainer to this orthopedic clinic, from their first day through full independence.

ability to build structured training and competency programs, since staff development is a core duty here

If you had a physician who wanted a treatment approach you thought wasn't right for the patient, how would you handle that conversation?

willingness to advocate for patients while maintaining a working relationship with physicians

If your team was short-staffed on a busy clinic day with a full schedule of injections, casting, and DME fittings, how would you prioritize and delegate?

operational judgment for maintaining staffing levels and productivity under pressure

Tell me about a time you had to assist with an in-office injection procedure or a complex casting situation and something didn't go as planned.

composure and technical recovery under real clinical pressure

Practice this interview out loud.

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Practice this out loud

The full job description

As published by Advocate Health.

Department: 02408 AMG Aurora Highland Ave - Surgery: Orthopedics Status: Full time Benefits Eligible: Yes Hou rs Per Week: 40 Schedule Details/Additional Information: Monday through Friday 8-5 Pay Range: $30.70 - $46.05 Experience Required: • ​​ Five years athletic training experience, including two of those years as Clinical Athletic Trainer Senior or other applicable experience  Major Responsibilities: • Acts as a resource and demonstrates leadership in day-to-day work activities. Duties includes training/orienting departmental support staff. Assists with human resource responsibilities, which may include interviewing and selection of new employees, staff development, providing performance feedback, resolution of employee concerns, and employee morale. Advises and updates staff on procedural changes.    • Assigns, monitors, and reviews progress and accuracy of work, monitors productivity, maintains appropriate staffing levels, directs efforts, and provides guidance on more complex issues.   • Demonstrates problem-solving, decision-making, decision sharing and conflict resolution to support team outcomes.  • Acts as a clinical and department resource. Mentors and facilitates clinical problem solving with other staff. Assists in developing training and/or clinical guidelines and assists in the development and implementation of staff orientation, competency and education activities. Promotes and develops rehabilitation programs, leads programs or referral development projects, and participates in community education or sponsored events. Serve as durable medical equipment (DME) resource for fittings, ordering and process education for clinic team. Support staff development by assisting in training, competency assessments, and clinical guideline creation.  • Performs injury assessments and refers patient for necessary care. Communicates with patients to triage, answer questions and to instruct in self-care, prevention, and treatment. Communicates with Physician and medical team to help determine need for special tests or services.  • Establishes a plan of care and implements individual treatment based on evaluation results, health goals and by utilizing appropriate techniques. Communicates plan of care to all involved in patient's care. Monitors and evaluates outcomes and appropriately adjusts the individualized treatment plan based on the patient's response to treatment. Recognizes potential issues and the need to advocate for patient by working with the physician and/or key professionals.  • Identifies factors affecting patient's physical and psychosocial comfort and attends to these needs. Able to work with diverse patient population.  • Plans for and completes patient after visit summary including providing written home exercise programs, patient/family teaching, referral for community services, and ordering equipment.  • Completes all required documentation following department policy, including patient assessment, patient progress notes, after visit summaries as appropriate, to record patient care.  • Must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served. Must demonstrate knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span and possess the ability to assess data reflective of the patient's status and interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to his/her age-specific needs, and to provide the care needed as described in the department's policies and procedures. Age-specific information is developed further in the departmental job standards.  • Prepare and assist the physician with injection procedures done in the office. Provides proper post-operative wound care and education, removal of sutures and dressing changes to post-surgical patients as directed by the attending physician. Develops and implements patient management plans, assists in provision of continuity of care from offices visits through surgery if necessary as well as therapy needs. Perform cast and/or durable medical equipment (DME) application and removal.  Licensure, Registration, and/or Certification Required: • Current athletic training certification by the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC). Currently licensed for Athletic Trainer license issued by the state in which the teammate practices.  Ability to complete American Heart Association Healthcare Provider (BLS), which includes CPR and AED training within 30 days of hire.  Education Required: • Bachelor's degree in athletic training from a Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) program.   Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required: • Ability to proctor casting, splinting and DME application to staff.  • Excellent communication skills. Relay information appropriately.   • Ability to understand and communicate medical terminology. Explain all processes to patients in plain language and utilize teach back to ensure understanding.  • Initiate problem solving and conflict resolution skills to foster effective work relationships with peers.  Physical Requirements and Working Conditions: • Must be able to:  • lift up to 50 lbs. from floor to waist.  • Lift up to 10 lbs. from waist to overhead.  • Lift and carry up to 40 lbs. at waist height a reasonable distance.  • Ability to work under stressful situations   • Frequent periods of extended standing and sitting  • Ability and flexibility to manage multiple tasks simultaneously; well organized   • Must be able to:  • Push/pull with 30 lbs. of force.  • Perform a sliding transfer of 150 lbs. with a second person present.  • Exposed to normal office environment.  • Must have ability to work flexible schedule and in an environment that varies from office to outside temperatures/varying outdoor environments.  • Position requires travel so will be exposed to weather and road conditions.  • Must have functional use of senses to allow effective communication.   • Ability to perform fine manipulation for dressing.  • Must frequently walk, assist and lift patient(s) as needed.   • Operates all equipment necessary to perform the job.  • Exposed to electrical and chemical hazards as well as blood and bodily fluids and is thus required to wear protective apparel as necessary.  Preferred Job Requirements: • Master’s degree preferred.   This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties. Our Commitment to You: Advocate Health offers a comprehensive suite of Total Rewards: benefits and well-being programs, competitive compensation, generous retirement offerings, programs that invest in your career development and so much more – so you can live fully at and away from work, including: Compensation • Base compensation listed within the listed pay range based on factors such as qualifications, skills, relevant experience, and/or training • Premium pay such as shift, on call, and more based on a teammate's job • Incentive pay for select positions • Opportunity for annual increases based on performance Benefits and more • Paid Time Off programs • Health and welfare benefits such as medical, dental, vision, life, and Short- and Long-Term Disability • Flexible Spending Accounts for eligible health care and dependent care expenses • Family benefits such as adoption assistance and paid parental leave • Defined contribution retirement plans with employer match and other financial wellness programs • Educational Assistance Program Note: Eligibility for programs listed above may depend on your FTE or status (e.g., full-time, part-time, per diem, temporary, etc.); please ask a Recruiter for more information during an interview. About Advocate Health  Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs 155,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations, and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.

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