- Again expect less than 3 questions from this chapter. Read it but most of the topics are very self-explanatory and easy to understand, and if you’ve been interested in fitness you’ll likely understand most of what’s covered in chapter 2. I recommend skimming it and re-reading anything that doesn’t make sense.
- Clinical Setting – Seems like a likely test question. Know that a personal trainer can only work in a clinical setting if they are themselves licensed or working alongside a licensed professional(like a physician).
- Athletic Trainer – Understand the difference between an athletic trainer and a personal trainer. Athletic trainers are licensed and require a bachelor’s and sometimes master’s degree. Athletic trainers: provide emergency services at sports practices and sporting events, provide preventative care, diagnosis, treatment, and rehab, and coordinate with physicians and other healthcare professionals. Personal trainers should not serve as first responders or diagnose and treat athletic injuries without being trained and licensed.
- Physical Therapist – Know that a physical therapist is a distinct professional governed by different laws and licenses. The physical therapist’s main focus is to continually assess and reassess in order to ensure the full rehabilitation of each client.
- Registered Dietician – Know that by law in most states you cannot provide detailed meal plans without being a registered dietician. A registered dietician can: perform comprehensive nutrition assessments, determine nutritional diagnosis, and design and implement nutritional intervention plans. A personal trainer can only provide general advice. Anything more extensive will put you at risk for legal issues.
- Diagnosing and Prescribing – Only a licensed professional should diagnose. Fitness professionals who are not licensed should not diagnose anything and avoid any language that may lead to an individual to believe that they have a medical condition. The fitness professional should be providing workouts rather than prescribing them. Prescribing is authorizing the use of medicine or treatment to overcome a specific ailment. Nutrition is a grey area – you can provide general advice on nutrition but do not prescribe a specific meal plan. You can tell them to eat less carbs and less sugar but you can’t give them a specific plan to follow. “You should eat eggs and not drink juice in the morning” is okay, but you cannot give them a plan that says “eat 3 eggs and drink tea for breakfast.”