Professionals in the local fitness sector will often refer to themselves as, “ qualified/certified instructors”, or, “ registered trainers”. These terms are typically used by service-providers with intent to foster confidence among prospective clients, in their general preparedness or competence as professionals. Referring to oneself in such a way, however, begs the question; qualified and/or registered by whom ? This post explores regulation and accreditation of fitness professionals in Malta, specifically those with scopes of practice pegged to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) at levels three to four, namely, fitness/gym instructors, and personal trainers. Fitness professionals have an ethical obligation to refer to themselves in a way that accurately reflects their expertise and scope of practice, without intentionally misleading prospective clients. So in this sense, terms like qualified , certified , accred i ted , registered , and licensed , warrant some furth...
Primarily, the main function of Exercise for Health (EH) professionals is to plan and supervise exercise prescriptions, where circumstances are complex, possibly unpredictable, and involve an element of risk beyond the reasonable purview of exercise professionals who essentially operate within the parameters of European Qualifications Framework (EQF) general descriptors at level four or lower. In the case of referral by general medical practitioners, the scope of EH professionals essentially exemplifies the notion of exercise [as] medicine (as espoused by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) - see http://www.exerciseismedicine.org/ ). EH professionals are expected to demonstrate the critical thinking skills characteristic of higher education, to recognise misinformation and pseudo-scientific approaches and products, as well as plan and evaluate courses of action informed by evidence-based guidelines and peer-reviewed literature. They are expected to have a multifacete...