jonesy01760 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 So I would imagine in most cases work/volunteer experience as a personal trainer doesn't count as HCE, but my situation is somewhat different. I'm certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and will soon graduate with a BS in Exercise Physiology with an emphasis in Rehabilitation. I focus on corrective/rehabilitative exercise. I teach a free class on campus where I instruct on self-help exercise for injury rehabilitation, posture correction, and occupational health (generally several faculty members attend my class). Essentially the format of the class is purely question and answer. For example, I might ask, "where do you hurt?" and then focus the class time on correcting the problem (when possible). I am as hands on as my certification will allow. I also was an intern trainer for a weight loss competition on campus. Many of my clients had hypertension and communication with their doctor was frequent. We tracked cholesterol, blood pressure, and other health markers general above and beyond the typical for a personal trainer, and counseled on diet according to medical conditions. Then obviously I train other individuals outside those experiences with the same kind of emphasis. Essentially i liked to think of what I do as post-physical therapy rehabilitation (in many cases that is exactly what it was) very similar to athletic training. Anyway, my degree doesn't certify me as an ATC so I imagine it doesn't matter, and i can't count it for HCE? I'm curious what your thoughts are. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeMug Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I was in a somewhat similar situation and the answer is yes and no--????. I have my undergrad and grad degrees in ex Phys so I came with a relevant academic background. Since it was a while back I had to redo ALL pre-reqs. No fun but I used to it score a 3.93 on 30 credits. That's not your issue--you need to see "patients" not "clients". Thus, you need to be in a clinical rehab setting interacting and caring for people with "documented medical condition or injuries." Your assessment, though probably good, doesn't count as you do not have thorough enough training. Another recommendation is to get the Medical Exercise Specialist certification. Will help your resume as well as validate your personal training as real post-rehab. Get time in the clinical setting and you'll be ok. You need a little time to bridge what you do to clinical but you'll get accepted just like I did--and to top tier schools! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy01760 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Thank you coffee mug! I found the MES certification program you mentioned online; It looks fantastic! I did a little research and was wondering what the scope of practice is with the certification? How might one go about documenting patient interaction? Is it designed for a self employed trainer or could I use it to apply for a job at the hospital? Also curious if you know more about the insurance reimbursement it mentioned? I've been looking for a certification like this for some time; I almost got the corrective exercise cert from NASM but figured I'd still be in the same predicament. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakingpatience Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Do you know which PA schools you want to attend? Contact them. Schools all vary in what they consider HCE, and from what I've seen here many will answer if you ask them about yours. As far as having the proper certification, again, some schools say specifically they prefer HCE that requires a certificate, others do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeMug Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 It's not meant to replace the PTA license but I believe it can open up doors to outpatient PT clinics. Since outpatient PT is widely acceptable for hours, that's probably your best bet. It's meant to be the bridge between PT and normal function as PTs tend to not get enough time with patients to get them back to 100%. PTs can refer patients to you and you can get some solid experience that way. But of equal importance, if not more, is getting shadowing hours with PAs, not MDs. Shadow 5-10 for at least 20 or more hours each. Then volunteer in a hospital. Go as clinically patient-centered as possible as the personal training is not clinical. Then sell your butt off in your narrative in CASPA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakingpatience Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 But of equal importance, if not more, is getting shadowing hours with PAs, not MDs. Shadow 5-10 for at least 20 or more hours each. With all due respect, I disagree with this. I have not seen a school that values shadowing experience over high quality HCE. Having some shadowing experience is important, especially if you do not work with PAs at your job, but 200 hours is excessive. Unless you have a ton of extra time on your hands, I think some of that time could be spent gaining more HCE or volunteering Sorry Jonesy, don't mean to derail your thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeMug Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Thank you for your opinion. Clearly this forum is about giving one's opinion based on experience. As my background is extremely similar to the original post, I feel my contribution can be quite helpful. I've had positive outcomes with the manner in which I navigated this, so I simply offer my own evidence based results in this particular area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeMug Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Jonesy01760--you'll be fine. You have to direct the rehab and ex sci to a clinical arena. Then your shadowing of PAs shows you know the PA profession and how you want to transfer over for whatever reasons drive you. Many schools count 100-200 shadowing hours toward HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeMug Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Faking and jonesy-- Terribly sorry if I was snappy--had a wretched cold and when I checked back on the post, I see my tone wasn't my best. I think we both have given good advice. Jonesy, making the transfer over in your work in personal training to clinical is essential. With my recommendations you will be able to acquire positions that will become your HCE that are critical for a successful application like Faking said. Please feel free to pm me if you have any specifics about the cert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy01760 Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 This information has been extremely helpful. I'm going to register for the MES cert in a couple weeks. I'll pm you at that point if I have any more questions. Thanks Again CoffeeMug! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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