Exploration of the clinical exercise physiologist standards in the UK: are they fit for purpose and how could they be developed?

Abstract

Registered clinical exercise physiologists (CEPs) are recognised healthcare professionals in the UK and are registered through the Academy of Healthcare Science (AHCS). Their practice is guided by the Clinical Exercise Physiology UK (CEP-UK) standards outlined in their scope of practice and the accompanying curriculum framework. This study aimed to explore the current CEP standards and understand if they are fit for purpose in the UK. Three phases (1) a scoping review of Medline, Web of Science and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases. A survey was phased (2) using a 1-5 rating Likert scale ranking the importance of each component for a UK CEP. Phase (3) consisted of two focus groups to gain a consensus on the current standards and recommendations for future iterations. Overall, academics (n=26), healthcare professionals (n=25), CEPs (n=10), service managers (n=6) and researchers (n=4) were identified through purposive sampling and snowball sampling. Phase (1) identified 24 studies containing relevant knowledge and skills. During phase (2), n=58 (82%) of participants completed the survey and n=25 (35%) attended focus groups in phase (3). All knowledge and skills identified from the scoping review, the CEP-UK scope of practice, curriculum framework and the AHCS standards of proficiency and good clinical practice (n=58) were accepted. For CEP practice, an additional three health conditions were accepted from the previous iteration into the current health condition categories. A knowledge and understanding of nine key health professions was also recommended. The final consensus identified that 58 key knowledge and skills across the current health condition categories were required by CEPs, meaning that the current CEP-UK curriculum framework is fit for purpose with only minimal changes required for the next iteration.