In my country (Spain) our degree (Sport Science) is not legally regulated and we are not considered by law as a health profession. For previous reason, we cannot work as exercise physiologists.
Just in case it helps, here below you have the BASES link.
http://www.bases.org.uk/Home
Hi Saul, OK I would largely agree with you. Here in the UK, it is not a 'recognized' profession, although we can work as an 'exercise physiologist'. I guess we have a governing body, and this would be BASES. http://www.bases.org.uk/ They run accreditation in various disciplines, and it acts kinda of a license to practice. I currently work in higher education, but I did 8 years in our national health service as an exercise physiologist working in cardiac and diabetic rehabilitation. I wouldn't have got the job without a masters though.
Hi,
In Portugal, the same question applies, but mainly in tax effects. We can act as exercise physiologist's in our field of work. We also had, in the Technical University of Lisbon, a degree specialized in exercise physiology.
However the struggle to consider us health professionals is far from over.
Hi Diogo, yep, we are in the same boat. Since I have been involved in the area (20 odd years) we have been trying to find a way through the professional route. But still not there, not even close, jk
Hi guys!! In all of the Balkan Peninsula countries we have the problems. For example in Slovenia there is only regulated profession as physical education teacher. Other field of sport sciences, such as kinesiologist or kinesiotherapist are not currently regulated by the law. But currently there is a new proposal of the law in preparation, which will also include a work of kinesiologist in national health services. We are slowly establishing job positions for other sport sciences specialits, but we have still long path before us. Best regards, Tim.
Although in the UK BASES accreditation is widely used as marker, it is certainly not a requirement. Within health it becomes even more of an issue as exercise physiology for pre-operative assessment is growing yet there is no requirement for a specific qualification. Academic qualifications (MSc) don't necessarily mean the candidate has any specific knowledge of exercise physiology for the population or technique required. There certainly needs to be tighter regulation of this.
Hi Alan, absolutely right. I think the primary issue is the variability in degree content. I did 8 years in NHS, and interviewing potential candidates for Ex Phys positions was always an enlightening experience. The quality and experience was highly variable. As bench marks, we tended to look for ACSM quals - HFI, exercise specialist etc; and higher degree. I would add that we always had very good candidates who did very well in the roles. Often they were over qual'd for some aspects. At the time, BASES wasn't up too much in the field of health (IMHO); although perhaps this position has changed since then. jk
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