NOTE: Cardiovascular diseases include cardiac, peripheral vascular or cerebrovascular disease; pulmonary disease includes COPD, asthma or cystic fibrosis; metabolic disease includes diabetes Type 1 & 2, thyroid disorders or renal or liver disease.
ACSM Risk Stratification instructs fitness professionals as to how to decide if a client is at low, medium or high risk for exercising and then determine if a physician's clearance is needed.
(In the nursing world, medium and high risk people or 'special populations' are who we encounter everyday. We can care for them and help them towards wellness, within their fitness nursing care plan)
A physician's clearance is recommended if a client is moderate or high risk, or in other words:
there are two or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease present.**
there are symptoms of cardiovasular, pulmonary or metabolic disease.
there is known cardiac, pulmonary or metabolic disease.
**This would mean a 57 y.o. women with high cholesterol. You don't have to be 'sickly' to need a physician's clearance.
*American College of Sport Medicine. ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 2010. 8th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
There are increasingly more and more 'ordinary people' who fall into moderate and high risk categories. How many diabetics do you know? How many do you know who are exercising properly and safely and getting results (like improved health numbers) that are sustainable? (Just used diabetics as an example)
As nurses we know Nurse Practitioner's who we can access through nursing contacts, it even may be easier to work with Nurse Practitioners, than Physicians. We can also work with Physicians when needing clearance. You can even contract with a physician's practice to offer your services to their patients for a fee. All of the professionals make easy money in a positive way and may get more clients/patients if they want that. How?
Certified Fitness Nurse™ Academy has designed a simple technique, script and form to use. This form allows the Physician, APN or Physician Assistant to easily and quickly give clearance. Remember many people don't have health insurance, are yet willing to pay and will want to exercise but you know need a APN/Physician clearance.
We want to make it easier for people to start exercising within their limits.
We are that link to get them started and follow them through a certain points.
