Guest guest Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Hi Liz, I decided to reply to your email via the group. For the rest of you, Liz inquired to me directly about the differences between the NSCA and NASM. Here are a couple of points off the top of my head: 1. Despite apparently being marketed as the next ACSM/NSCA, the NASM (see www.nasm.org) is a privately-owned company (NOT a non-profit professional association) and members should be aware the inherent limitations of certification with them. An initial impression I had of their website was that their use of the " .ORG " domain extension instead of using " .COM " may mislead some people into thinking that, by taking a course, they are becoming a part of a national professional association when in fact they are not. " .ORG " is usually used by non-profit groups (schools, professional associations, clubs, etc.), so one may be lead to believe that the NASM is holding itself out to be something it is not. 2. As a privately-owned company, the NASM is not accountable to either their members or to the public. Decisions to include information in their courses, serve their membership, etc. are all based on business criteria that is decided by the President and any other shareholders of the corporation (aside: this does not include the certified members). This means that if the NASM (or any other privately-owned education company) decide to include non-scientific (or just plain questionable) information in their materials, seek an affiliation with another company to push a particular vitamin/nutritional supplement/exercise machine, etc., their members have absolutely no leverage against this happening. Furthermore, if the President of such a company is taking substantial funds from the company as payment (which is not unrealistic, nor inappropriate, for a private company), you have to ask yourself how much of that money could have gone toward improving your industry recognition as a certified " member " of that corporation. 3. Following up on point #2, in a private company the certified " members " do not own any share capital in the corporation. On the other hand, the ACSM and NSCA are both non-profit organizations. By definition, as a member of a non-profit associations, each individual has an equal stake in the organization. No one has a controlling interest, and the Executive or Board of Directors is elected to their positions by the membership. This tends to keep people more honest (and tends toward greater integrity) in non-profits, since the process of governance, creation of course materials & position papers, etc. is a highly democratic process. Furthermore, any of the Directors - including the President - of the association can be removed by the membership (or by the Board of Directors) at any time, should there be questionable actions or neglect of duties. Therefore, being certified by a private company does not afford you any real membership with that corporation. In fact, your certificate is only recognition of completing one of their courses. Nothing more. 4. None of this means that a courses by private companies are illegitimate, or a poor use of time/resources. Beyond participation in one's professional association, the continuing education for most professionals consists of attending workshops or courses given by privately-owned companies, or individuals. However, it is important to recognize the differences in accountability and transparency that exist between for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. One should never expect a course by a private company will legitimize them as a professional. Best regards, . ************************************************* R. Gray, M.Sc., C.S.C.S., C.K. Ph.D. Candidate in Spine Biomechanics Department of Kinesiology University of Waterloo 200 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1 jrgray@... ************************************************* NASM Certification I would be interested in your opinions regarding the NASM certification and if any of you attended any of their workshops? Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Currently, unless something has changed in the last year, there is no national accreditation for various trainers certifications. Mike Scarborough Asheville NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Currently, unless something has changed in the last year, there is no national accreditation for various trainers certifications. Mike Scarborough Asheville NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.