By Allan Malone, MSAT, LAT, ATC
All athletic trainers (ATs) have had to learn the same basic technical skills required to perform our daily professional duties. A barrage of special tests, evaluation sequences for all body areas, and taping are just a few of the technical skills. What about the soft skills practicing (and student) athletic trainers should possess?
We should take some time to understand these skills. Soft skills are those personal habits and traits that shape how you work, on your own and with others. Soft skills help shape who you are, opposed to the technical, “hard skills” that we learned in the classroom and the lab. Consider the list below of soft skills for the athletic trainer and think about your own daily practice. Which soft skills have you mastered?? Which ones need improving? Most importantly, what steps can you take to improve the execution of those soft skills lacking in your practice?
· Effective communication
Empathy / compassion
Dependability
Integrity
Problem-solving
Time management
Teamwork
Adaptability
As healthcare professionals, our ability to communicate with the athlete/patient, the parents of the athlete/patient, the physician and all other healthcare team members, is a vital skill that can always be improved upon. Communication is the skill of how you give and receive information. The largest and most important portion of effective communication is active listening. We want to engage athletes/patients so that we fully understand their pain and fears and build a foundation of rapport for future needs. A tip to improve on active listening is to pay attention to facial expressions, body language, and tone. Most of us say more with our body than with our words. Ask follow-up questions and/or rephrase their response to make sure you understood them correctly.
Being an effective communicator and engaging with stakeholders helps us to advocate for our patients. The NATA Code of Ethics, section 1.2 states, our “...duty to the patient is the first concern, and therefore members are obligated to place the well-being and long-term well-being of their patient above other groups and their own self-interest, to provide competent care in all decisions, and advocate for the best medical interest and safety of their patient at all times…” If we do not effectively communicate, we may not be effectively advocating for our athletes/patients’ best interest. A way to enhance effective communication is with friendliness and respect. Friendliness includes keeping an open mind with a positive attitude to attempt to understand from the other persons viewpoint. One way to practice friendliness is by remembering small, thoughtful details from past conversations and revisiting those items in future conversations. Respect, one of the NATA shared professional values, is knowing when to initiate and respond, allowing others to speak without being interrupted, and using your time with someone intentionally.
Our soft skills are just as important as the professional skills we learned in school. Remember, developing these skills is a process of trial and error. Personal development in soft skills extends into our professional settings. So, ask that one extra question. Take that one extra step. You never know who you might reach.