Post Nominal BS: The Age of Certification
If I were to add initials to my name for every continuing education course I have taken it would read:
Anna J. Hartman AT, MS, ATC, CSCS, NCPT, VM, NM, IAOM, ADN, SDN, ASTYM, XPS, PP, VYTT, FM, DNS, ARP, FF, AT, JA, MSI, PRI, MET, WBV, KC, FMS, SFMA
I have been an Athletic Trainer for 17 years, in that 17 years, I went to graduate school and I have attended well over 200 formal continuing education courses. That is on average 1 continuing education course per month my entire career. I am not exaggerating, I am what a friend and colleague of mine, Koichi Sato, coined a “Truth Seeker”, as fan of the X-Files, I loved that term! Really what Koichi was sharing is that he and I, like so many others in the fields of sports science, sports medicine, and movement have a passion for learning, for constant change, and constant searching for tools and ideas that push the industry forward, and ultimately give us an edge in what we have to offer our athletes, in ethically enhancing their performance and decreasing their injury potential.
Though often, I am so full of information, I feel like I don’t know anything, I would not change this passion and hobby of mine for the world. I believe it helps me to be better, more engaged, and challenged with working with my clients. I believe it has helped me find my OWN philosophy and approach to working with clients and truly allows me to approach injuries, the human body, and movement in an AUTHENTIC way. I do feel that as a business owner I should be proud of and market my thorough education and plethora of tools I offer to my clients. I do this by listing them all on my website, and listing all my education on my professional curriculum vitae.
This brings me to the point of this blog post, a bit of a soap box topic, I believe as professionals in a health and wellness industry it is our professional responsibility to not excessively place acronyms or letters behind our names in order to look smart or qualified.
These letters are called post-nominal letters or initials. They are listed in order of precedence: title, degrees, professional certifications, and professional membership societies. Different countries will have different traditions in the order or types of titles or initials.
Here is a break down and definition of the typical post-nominal initials:
Title: Professional title, typically associated with completion of formal education. (MD, DO, PT, AT, CPA, etc)
Degree: College or University degree that one has completed, the highest level of degree is listed if individual has one or more degrees in the same category. For example if you have completed undergraduate school and graduate school you would only list your graduate degree. If you have two or more graduate degrees you could list both of them. (MS, PhD, or MS, DSc)
Professional certifications: This is the category that creates the most confusion in our industry. There is a difference between a professional certification and a certificate. A professional certification requires administration of a test from a third party accredited certifying agency. As well, that certifying agency requires periodic renewal of certification through the approval of continuing education and competency. Within the certification, it typically also holds professionals to a code of ethics and scope of practice. A certificate, is stating competition of educational information from a company or school providing educational component or topic.
For example:
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) is a professional certification. The certifying agency is the NSCA certification commission, which is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). Those who hold a CSCS are subject to a code of ethics, scope of practice, and continuing education competence reporting to maintain their certification.
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certification (RKC) is a certificate of completion of course work and practical demonstration and teaching. The test is not accredited or administered by an outside organization, there are no code of ethics, or scope of practice, there is no organization monitoring continued educational competence and maintenance of certification.
These examples show, that often things are sold or advertised as professional certifications and in fact they are not. They are certificates of completion for professionals.
Professional membership societies: This is applicable for those professionals who are fellows of professional societies. For example FNATA is a Fellow of the National Athletic Trainers Association and it recognizes professional achievement and service for the professional organization. It is given to the professional from the Board of the professional organization as a distinguished member or award.
In general, I believe it is our professional responsibility to limit the post-nominal initials to only include titles, degrees, professional certifications, and professional membership honors. To add post-nominal initials indicating an acronym history of our professional education or resume is misleading to the consumer. As a health care and wellness practitioner, I support the need for credentialing agencies that protect the public and professionals such as the NCCA. For more information on credentialing agencies check out theses websites:
http://www.credentialingexcellence.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1
http://www.usreps.org/Pages/default.aspx
A more appropriate place to list certificates of completion that may help you to stand out in your field of work among other professionals is listed under your title or in your bio. For example:
Anna J. Hartman MS, ATC, CSCS, NCPT® Athletic Trainer, Founder MovementREV Certified Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Practitioner 200HR Vinyasa Yoga Teacher ASTYM Certified FMS Certified Systemic Dry Needling Certificate Visceral and Neural Manipulation Practitioner