Medical Exercise Career Success Path - Foundation

Medical Exercise Training is here to stay and will grow over the next two decades. Over the last 25 years Medical Exercise Specialists have seen great success managing clients with medical conditions to positive outcomes as well as building relationships with medical professionals. The first step to achieve these milestones is the establishment of a sound…FOUNDATION. FOUNDATION is the first step on the METI – Medical Exercise Specialists Career Success Path.

A sound FOUNDATION is important for every medical exercise professional. There are a few vital courses that are components of the FOUNDATION. They are:

1. The METI – Medical Exercise Specialist workshop or the Post Rehab Conditioning Specialist workshop;
2. A clinical anatomy/pathology course. “Clinical” means relating to the observation and treatment of actual patients rather than theoretical or laboratory studies. This is the next level of anatomy beyond basic gross anatomy where you learn the muscles, bones and major organ systems of the body. Clinical anatomy and pathology review what goes wrong anatomically and physiologically with human diseases and conditions.
3. A corrective exercise workshop. Understanding common muscular imbalances and their assessment and management is important. But remember not every imbalance is causes by a muscular imbalance. Some conditions that look like muscular imbalances may actually be one or a combination of four common situations: 1) truly a muscular imbalance; or 2) a joint dysfunction; 3) a neurological disorder and/or 4) a organic disorder. These are outlined in detail in the METI MES and PRCS workshops.
4. Observation hours. These are hours spent observing a physical therapist, chiropractor, physician (MD or DO), occupational therapist, massage therapist, nurse or athletic trainer manage clients in a clinical setting. The best usage of these hours in situations in which clients in the acute and/or subacute stages of their conditions are managed. This allows the medical exercise professional to understand where the client started and the viewpoint of the medical professional and how you, the medical exercise professional can become an integral part of the medical management team. Both the MES and PRCS courses require the completion of 10 observation hours as part of the training;
5. A medical terminology course. Understanding the terms and lingo in the medical community can be very challenging. Though a medical terminology course may not prepare you for every term or abbreviation you may encounter in your career, it will prepare you for the most common. You will definitely learn more along the way;
6. Finally, the METI – Advanced Medical Exercise Training Skills (MET Skills) workshop. METI has identified the 52 essential skills every medical exercise professional must become proficient in during their career. You wont possess all these skills after you complete your certification workshop. The next step after completing the MES or PRCS is the Advanced MET Skills workshop. To see where you are with your MET skills click here to download the MET Skills Checklist and complete the survey.