I recently made a presentation to the training staff at a large health club in the north east US. The presentation went great and there were many questions on MET guidelines. I asked the group what happened when they encountered difficult medical exercise clients. Every staff member said they would not consult with another staff member for fear of losing the client to a fellow trainer. This is a very disturbing situation. Medicine and all related disciplines were built on the concept of sharing information on patient management, outcomes and strategies. This allows for consistency within the medical community as well as greater professionalism.
At Medical Fitness Pros (MFP) we instituted case conferencing shortly after Thanksgiving. Now each Medical Fitness Pros staff participants in our weekly case conference (Thursdays at noon) ready to present their difficult clients. So far the staff is very responsive to the concept. Each staff member feels they are producing much better outcomes for their clients without fear of possibly losing the client. We even have a written format for presenting clients during the case conference. Click here to download the case conferencing presentation form.
The case conferencing format is simple. Each staff member selects a difficult client or a client that a second brain might offer additional options for exercise. Each client is presented using a standard format (download here). Presentations are 5 to 10 minutes followed by 10 to 15 minutes of staff members sharing exercise recommendations, exercise management strategies and/or questions on pathology. It's great to see the sharing between our staff along with the growth of our staff members and the much better outcomes we are producing with clients.
Case conferencing is an important tool that will improve the camaraderie in your facility and raise the level of professionalism. Sharing strategies, exercise recommendations and outcomes is a must for "Medical Exercise Training" to grow and flourish.
Learn how to establish a case conferencing format in your facility in our Medical Exercise Program Director certification.
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