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Standard of care guidelines for aquatic fitness professionals

This is an excerpt from Aquatic Fitness Professional Manual-8th Edition by Aquatic Exercise Association.

Standard of care is defined as the degree of care a reasonable person would take to prevent an injury to another. You should know your limitations and boundaries as a fitness professional, and you should develop a standard of care based on personal knowledge and skill. Always act within those boundaries and limitations. An example of this is CPR certification. Your CPR training certifies you to perform choking victim care, rescue breathing, and CPR. A reasonable person with a CPR certification would provide rescue breathing to an individual who is not breathing but has a pulse, which is the standard of care for this specific situation. You can see how certifications and education would alter your personal standard of care. Fitness professionals are responsible for keeping all certifications current and attending continuing education courses. Ongoing education is critical for remaining up to date with the latest knowledge and changes in the fitness industry. Reading professional journals and researching reputable sources and organizations will help you grow and gain fresh ideas for safe and effective programming.

The AEA provides two sets of standards. The first is the AEA Certified Aquatic Fitness Professional Code of Ethics and Conduct, which defines baseline standards that AEA Certified Aquatic Fitness Professionals are expected to follow.

The second standard is the AEA Standards and Guidelines for Aquatic Fitness Programming, which provides important information for professional leadership and application, environmental concerns, facility recommendations, and instructional issues for the overall safety of aquatic professionals and their participants. Several of the standards and guidelines have been included in various places in this manual. The complete standards and guidelines document is available at the AEA website (https://aeawave.org) and is updated regularly.

More Excerpts From Aquatic Fitness Professional Manual-8th Edition

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