The Role of the Fitness Professional in the Clinical Setting.

While fitness professionals have not historically been considered an extension of the health care team, there is a growing movement in health care to provide more complete and effective team-based care and to better integrate clinical and community resources. One way to do this is through physician referrals to community-based fitness professionals who can help patients translate clinician-advised exercise recommendations into individualized and effective exercise programs. Fitness professionals are uniquely qualified to fulfill this role given their training and practical expertise in exercise physiology, exercise program design and implementation, and health behavior change principles.