RCKimeryJr Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I will be applying to several PA programs next spring and summer and am wanting to make sure that there will not be any surprises when it comes time to apply. My question is, what defines a "clinical" setting? To me, the term can be very subjective because what I consider to be a clinical setting could vary greatly from that of those in charge of admissions. I sent an email to the main contact for the program but the school is on spring break until Monday so I am still waiting for a reply from her. One of the programs states the following on their website: "A minimum of 1400 hours of Patient Contact Experience defined for our admission process as provision of serves or care by a health care worker in a clinical setting, or an assigned home-based setting, that has a direct influence/benefit on the outcome of the patient. Examples of duties in this role would include: evaluation/assessment/management of a patient, patient education and implementation of a care plan." At the time of application I will have amassed around 8,000 hours as a personal trainer and during the course of working with a client, I do all of the following and more. The only problem is that I am not sure if a gym is considered a clinical setting. Any opinions would be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 I don't think personal training will be accepted by most schools as patient contact experience. You aren't making any medical decisions or dealing with patients in a clinical setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 A gym's not a clinical setting. I concur with the above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCKimeryJr Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 This is where I have to argue the fact about making medical decisions and dealing with patients in a clinical setting. Clinic is defined as the direct observation of a patient. It is common place to say that there a various fields of medicine, whether that be Emergency Medicine, Naturopathic Medicine, Holistic Medicine, Surgery, Preventative Medicine (to name a few). If one can say that a PT,PTA or Athletic Trainer will suffice as health care experience, then a trainer must surely be considered and here is why. When working with a new client, I must assess them by determining their medical history, medications, symptoms, injuries, current exercise, nutritional intake, sleep patterns, stress levels, motivation, daily routines... anything that is going to help me in determining the best course of action. It is then my responsibility to come up with a treatment plan for their specific goal. Whether there goal is to work on rehabbing from a torn muscle, tendon, or ligament, building their strength, core, and posture after a car accident, helping your average person lose weight, working with a younger athlete in preparation for a sport, you name it and I've done it. As a client progresses through the various exercise I am utilizing many various forms of communication. I am observing the client as they perform their reps and I observe the client as the weeks continue and the positive changes begin to take place. I am individually responsible for each of my clients and I continue working with them over a very long period of time. Not only do I communicate with them inside of the gym, I communicate via email, cell-phone, and text messaging. The only different between the type of work I do and a PT is that he or she has the title of Physical Therapist where as I am a Personal Trainer. I do just as much, if not more than most PT's. In fact, my practice takes me above and beyond due to the fact that I am also educating clients on nutrition, goal setting, motivation and inspiration. My form of medicine is that of the preventative nature, modifying behavior and altering the entire lifestyle of individuals. If a doctor tells the patient to "exercise and eat better" I am the one who educates and enforces someone to do this. My point being is that I am extremely capable of defending my profession as a valid source of health care experience. My tool set might be different than that of your EMT-B but it still falls within the realm of medicine. I would even argue the fact that if more people were to incorporate preventative medicine into their lives, we wouldn't have nearly as many health issues in our society. Think about it, where do most diseases and illnesses occur from? An extremely low amount of a particular nutrient or an an extremely high intake of a particular nutrient. Combine that with a lack of exercise and a genetic predisposition to the disease (for the exact reasons) and there you go. As a Personal Trainer I would argue that not only do I do many of the tasks your basic HCE jobs provide, I do even more. Obviously I do not have the same experience as a Paramedic or someone that is working in the direct heat of battle but that is a different form of medicine altogether. But based on the laurels of the established definitions I see no reason as to why a Personal Trainer should not be deemed worthy HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCKimeryJr Posted March 24, 2013 Author Share Posted March 24, 2013 I think the issue people have is that when someone says "Personal Trainer" you have a pre established bias as to what a Personal Trainer does or does not do when in fact, if the given the opportunity, he or she is very competent in defending their profession. Alas, that is why I am extremely grateful for the narrative portion of the application and the interview because my experience with working with people and my passion for helping others will allow me to stand out from the basic pre PA student who took a job as a EMT-B for the hours where as I am doing what I love to do and am extremely passionate about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 There is no doubt you bring a particular skill set with your experience in preventative health maintence. The issue is that schools want what schools want, regardless of your argument. I wouldn't count on them changing their mind based on your opinion. The best thing for you to do is first determine if a school accepts personal trainer as HCE. If not, take the time and grab an EMT cert to get more traditional HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator True Anomaly Posted March 24, 2013 Moderator Share Posted March 24, 2013 Agree with Gator- you're looking to redefine what is considered the "clinical setting". Great. But it's about what PA programs consider to be a clinical setting. Since you asked the question, you acknowledge that there is that little voice in the back of your head that your experience might not actually qualify as HCE. And if it doesn't, don't be surprised. There's no doubt you have confidence. But so does that other applicant who became an EMT not because "they were trying to get hours", but because they also have a passion for helping people in need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCKimeryJr Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Thank you for the insight. I am hoping to hear back from her sometime this week so that will ultimately determine the best course of action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cg02186 Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 Personally, I think there is a HUGE difference between Athletic Trainer and Personal Training, and I can attest to this as I am an athletic training student and work as a fitness supervisor in gym with a bunch of personal trainers. As an ATC, you deal with dozens and sometimes hundreds of individuals that you have to know everything about in a medical sense. Also, as an ATC I see acute injuries such as fractures, ligament tears, muscle tears as well as a large variety of general illnesses and skin conditions. It's a lot different doing the rehab and exercise protocol for a kid who had ACL surgery the day before then it is trying to get someone to lose weight. Don't get me wrong, Personal Training is awesome and I think it takes a great deal of knowledge and should be counted as some type of healthcare experience. Even if you train elderly individuals and such, it is still not the equivalent of having to treat an injury acutely, then working them all of the way back to full strength and returning to play. In my opinion, most ATCs can become personal trainers but most personal trainers can not just jump and become an ATC. I know many Personal Trainers who were ATCs and just took the certification test without any studying or anything and became personal trainers. I do think it should count as some health care experience though because I think athletic training and personal training are very overlooked when it comes to healthcare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 If this experience was in sports medicine or occupational rehab, etc. then it would probably be considered HCE with most schools. The fact that you are not working under a practicing provider is a big reason why it's not considered HCE. Every school is different though, so you may eventually find one that accepts it, but you'll have better options if you do some kind of work that is widely accepted as HCE. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjl12 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 Does anyone know if Mental Health Technician satisifies criterion for HCE? I'm an MHT @ a behavioral hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjl12 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 Does anyone know if Mental Health Technician satisifies criterion for HCE? I'm an MHT @ a behavioral hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It will depend on the school. A lot of schools would accept that as HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 It will depend on the school. A lot of schools would accept that as HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCKimeryJr Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 I've been meaning to post again with an update. One program I am considering does take it as HCE and one does not. My plan is to apply to a job as a Chiropractic Assistant while also training some of my clients, that way I am getting the best of both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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