A professional who has completed a fitness specialist course within a specific subject matter on MedFit Classroom is considered a medical fitness specialist within that subject matter. The medical fitness specialist has received advanced education and training, and is qualified to work with clients who have been diagnosed with one or more specific medical conditions including, but not limited to: Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, lung disease, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disorders, obesity, orthopedic disease, Parkinson’s disease, psychological issues, Type 2 diabetes, and more.

Specialist courses on MedFit Classroom are considered advanced, continuing education, and do not supplant a general comprehensive fitness certification. An individual completing a specialist course on MedFit Classroom, and earning a Certificate of Specialization, has provided evidence of either a current, general fitness certification, or relevant degree in the field, as well as proof of professional liability insurance. Specialists shall first and foremost adhere to the scope of practice as defined by their primary fitness certification.

Additionally, medical fitness specialists shall follow all local, regional, state, and/or national regulations that exist (e.g., those defined by their accredited certification organizations, national licensing boards, State licensing and/or registration requirements, primary industry trade organizations, etc.), and shall adhere to the procedures, actions, and processes that specialists are permitted to undertake based on their credentials. The medical fitness specialist shall not diagnose injury, chronic disease, or any other medical condition, nor provide treatment of any kind, and shall refer clients with such needs to the properly licensed medical and allied healthcare professionals.

Clients of a medical fitness specialist may have been recommended by a licensed healthcare professional (i.e., medical doctor, chiropractic physician, physiotherapist, etc.) to participate in a structured physical exercise program, and/or begin behavioral change programs (e.g., dietary; mental health). This includes clients who have a specific health or fitness goal, and have taken it upon their own merit to begin an exercise and/or behavior change program.

To ensure coordination of care, the medical fitness specialist is trained to competently communicate in written, verbal, and/or electronic formats with allied health professionals. Specialists are also able to properly communicate with, and help educate, a client about medical fitness, as it relates to the medical circumstances and needs of that client, and within the context of the specific conditions for which the medical fitness specialist has been trained.

The medical fitness specialist has been trained to recognize the following, and knows how, when, and to whom to make a necessary referral (i.e., an appropriate licensed medical or clinical provider): (1.) A client who expresses an interest in, or is currently participating in, physical exercise and/or behavioral change programming; (2.) A client who may possibly have an undiagnosed condition or is experiencing an exacerbation of a current medical issue; (3.) A client who would be placed at risk if physical exercise or behavioral change programs were started or continued.

The medical fitness specialist understands how to create progressive exercise programs, assess whether or not progress is being made through exercise, make programming modifications, monitor, etc., and can responsibly guide the client in specific programs that lead to improvements in overall health and wellness, based on the client’s medical history, goals, and physician recommendations. The medical fitness specialist has been trained to take a thorough history, keep accurate records, and finally, to work within the scope of their respective education and training.

Revised 12.01.2021

Yes, Fitness Specializations must be renewed. You do this by completing ten (10) relevant hours of continuing education, every two (2) years. Much of the renewal process is automated within your MedFit Classroom account, and as of 12/1/2021, there is a fee of $50 to renew a single certificate of specialization.

This is very likely to happen if you are an active learner on MedFit Classroom. The actual renewal period opens ninety (90) days prior to a certificate of specialization’s expiration date. Certificates cannot be renewed any sooner, so you’ll just have to wait, patiently, for that renewal period to open.

Excess earned continuing education hours will not be rolled over. Upon renewal of a certificate of specialization, any continuing education hours that exceed the number of hours required for renewal will be cleared, and the field in the learner’s dashboard displaying the hours accrued toward renewal returns to zero (0). Those earned hours, however, will still be included in one’s lifetime accumulated continuing education hours.

If you fail to renew a particular certificate of specialization, that certificate will be considered expired, and you shall no longer be considered a Fitness Specialist by MedFit Classroom within that subject matter. If you have an account on MedFit Network (MFN), non-renewal of that certificate will also be reflected in your MFN account.

When a certificate of specialization reaches its two-year anniversary date, it will be expired on that date if the certificate has not been renewed. Although one has already had 90 days to renew that certificate automatically via one’s account prior to expiration, one will still be able to renew that certificate automatically via one’s account for a period of 90 days following the expiration of the certificate. Once renewed, the new expiration date is two years from the original anniversary date.

After that 90-day grace period ends, automatic renewal through one’s account is no longer available, and one has another 90 days to contact us directly in order to renew that certificate. There will be a small penalty fee for renewing a certificate after the 90-day grace period ends, and once renewed, the new expiration date is two years from the original anniversary date.

If, after 270 days during which you were allowed to do so, you did not renew a certificate, then we must conclude that you no longer wish to have that certificate of specialization, or hold that title of “Fitness Specialist,” in that particular subject matter. In order to restore your title of Fitness Specialist at this point, you will need to start from the beginning by purchasing the course once again (at full price), completing the course, retaking the exam, providing evidence of a fitness certification and liability insurance, etc.

Yes. Most, if not all, fitness specialist courses count continuing education hours towards one or more other fitness specialist courses. Given that all fitness specialist courses are a minimum of ten (10) hours in duration, and all fitness specialist courses require ten (10) continuing education hours to renew, you can see that renewal can be a very easy process through MedFit Classroom. The keys are timing, and relevance. In terms of timing, only those courses completed after a fitness specialist certificate has been earned will count as continuing education toward that certificate. In terms of relevance, the greater the relevance one course has for another, the more continuing education hours will be credited towards that other course. For example, if you first complete the Arthritis Fitness Specialist course, are considering taking a second specialist course, but you want that second course to provide all the continuing education hours needed to renew the Arthritis Fitness Specialist certificate, you would want to take a course like the Osteoporosis Fitness Specialist, or the Joint Reconstruction Fitness Specialist course, rather than the Stroke Recovery Fitness Specialist course. These two former courses are considered more relevant to arthritis than is the latter course on stroke recovery.

Yes, and this is done via a petitioning process. You can find the petition form here: https://www.medfitclassroom.org/petition/.

Please note, at $25 petition fee is required before CEUs are applied. 

Continuing education taken through MedFit Classroom (e.g., online courses, workshops, events) will automatically be added to the My CEC Tracking area of your MedFit Classroom account once it has been completed.

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