The exercise physiologist is responsible for patient intake and exercise prescription formulation for new cardiac rehab and industrial patients. Also assists with daily supervision and monitoring of patients as well as participating in the continuing education process for those not only enrolled in outpatient cardiac rehab, but also for inpatient Phase I participants. Responsibilities extend across the continuum of cardiac rehab services, beginning with Phase I and through to Phase IV.
Provides for the patient’s therapeutic exercise needs by formulating an exercise program based on the outpatient’s entrance ability and past and immediate medical history.
Provides the patient with a thorough explanation of the exercise program along with comprehensive instruction on the use of each piece of equipment that will be utilized, along with safety information.
Assists patients in their cardiac based exercise program by monitoring their exercise activity at each session and providing them with direction for progression in activity(rehab and home ) as well as verbal encouragement and support.
Insures compliance with the physician’s medical regimen by providing timely updates in the progress of the patient’s exercise program and making adjustments as directed by the physician
Provides for the patient’s medical needs by interfacing the exercise program with the medical monitoring and interaction provided by the cardiac rehab nursing staff.
Provides the immediate post-CABG patient (inpatient) with initial, supervised activity instruction and continued activity progression throughout admission.
Provides for the patient’s education needs in regards to exercise, risk factor reduction, warning sign recognition and cardiac rehabilitation
Researches the latest material related to exercise and cardiac rehabilitation and keeps the patients updated through presentations in weekly educational sessions.
Provides the patients with an opportunity to verbalize educational needs and adjusts educational presentations to address those needs
Evaluates, through discussion and observation, the level of the patient’s understanding of exercise as it relates to cardiac disease, and provides for individual education as needed.
Provides individualized home exercise instruction to the outpatient cardiac rehabilitation participant (and to those referred for consultation), including instruction on monitoring, warning sign recognition and progression.
Presents information to Phase I patients and their families that will increase their level of understanding of cardiac disease and its treatment, as well as their understanding of outpatients cardiac rehabilitation
Manages individual and collective patient/program data for physician, management and national reporting, review and monitoring.
Performs initial, final and post-rehab evaluations and data collection at periods designated by cardiac rehab policies/procedures. Evaluations include clinical, behavioral, economic and health assessments.
Responsible for both data entry and database management for all evaluation measurements.
Provides regular individual updates to physicians and collective updates to cardiac rehab management and national reporting center.
Assists in promoting community wellness and education by providing instruction on the cardiac disease process and available therapy.
Participates in presentations sponsored by the speaker’s bureau.
Provides for community education through written material provided to local media for community distribution.
Serves as/or assist the internship supervisor for prospective exercise physiology/health and wellness students electing to complete course requirements in cardiac rehab.
