Case Study Template
- Due No Due Date
- Points 20
- Submitting a text entry box, a media recording, or a file upload
Leila's client arrives and with their permission they let you sit in on the process. Leila starts with an interview, where you notice the tone is pleasant and conversational as Leila ask questions and takes extensive notes. As they are wrapping up the interview, Leila has the client complete some paper work that includes health history and the gyms pre-participation questionnaire before setting up their next meeting to talk through the clients initial program and complete some physical assessments. Since you will be helping Leila, the client consents to you working with their information to better inform your recommendations. After you say your goodbyes you and Leila sit down to strategize your approach based on your consultation.
Purpose
This initial consultation process is usually the first opportunity you have to get to know a client and is paramount to your success as a trainer. A good consultation can help you design well informed programs, but also can help you retain clients and build rapport as you start the process of developing your working relationship. The example case below (though fictional) contains a lot of the same barriers to healthy habits that most clients will reference and will help you to prepare your approach to working within those constraints when you get into the field.
- Recognize common perceived barriers to health
- Identify information in a consultation that can inform cardiovascular risk
- Use the standard pre-participation screen to determine exercise intensity
- Design S.M.A.R.T goals based on an initial consultation
Task
For this assignment, you will be asked to review the case information below to answer the following questions:
- What are Mr. Mulder's goals?
- Read through the case, what appears to be your clients biggest barriers to success?
- What currently motivates Mr. Mulder?
- Using your ACSM Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, what is Mr. Mulder's Cardiovascular Risk Stratification? How does this inform our work?
- The doctor appears to have given approval for the patient to begin an exercise regiment. Was this necessary based on the information provided and ACSM's pre-participation screen?
- Using the same ACSM pre-participation screen, what recommended intensity of exercise would Mr. Mulder begin with?
- Based on the previous recommendation for exercise intensity, calculate a target heart rate range for Mr. Mulder.
- Based on all the previous information, what are two examples of S.M.A.R.T goals that you might propose in your next conversation Mr. Mulder?
For this assignment I will accept written responses in a Microsoft word document or pasted into the text box for the submission. You alternatively may submit an audio or video log of your responses through the canvas submission tool. If you have any questions about the submission process please reach out!
Your Client
Fox Mulder (fig 1) has been referred to your gym by his primary care physician. Mr. Mulder is looking for help improving his fitness to help deal with a stressful and at times physically demanding job as well as improve his overall health. You begin a consultation with him and jot notes down for your report.
Anthropometrics & Vitals
Lucky you! Mr. Mulder's physician sent him with a sheet of some basic health information. The sheet describes the following:
Age: 39
Body Weight: 84 kg
Height: 6' 0"
Resting HR: 89 BPM
Blood Pressure: 141/78 mmHg
HDL: 53 mg/dl
LDL: 119 mg/dl
Is the patient cleared for exercise?
Yes. Dr. Scully approves Mr. Mulder for exercise.
Work
Mr. Mulder works for the FBI in a self-reported "high-stress" position as a field agent. His work requires him to fly across the U.S, which he reports as really messing with his sleep schedule. He feels that his chaotic schedule makes it hard for him to have a consistent regimen. He considers himself a "work-a-holic" always feeling like the job is "life or death" leaving little room for him. His work mainly consists of long hours of pouring over cases at a desk but will shift to physically demanding field work at a moments notice. Mulder feels like he isn't keeping his fitness up to meet the needs of his job but isn't sure how to stay fit with all the sitting either at his desk or traveling for work.
Diet
Due to his chaotic work schedule, Mulder reports missing breakfast constantly. You pry a little further and find that instead of full meals he tends to snack on whatever he can get quickly throughout the day. For dinner he generally has take-out saying that he is never home often enough to stock his fridge or that he finds that whatever he buys goes bad before he can eat it. He drinks 3-4 cups of coffee in the morning, and more in the evening depending on the day. He doesn't consider himself a "heavy drinker", maybe drinking an alcoholic beverage once every couple of episodes.
Health History
Mulders work with the FBI has contributed to a large collection of musculoskeletal injuries, mainly a gunshot wound to the shoulder that has caused lasting impairment, making it difficult for him to bring his arm up. He was supposed to go to a physical therapist for the injury but wasn't able to commit the time. He reports no current medications or recreational drug use, though sometimes in his line of work he is exposed to various chemicals. Though he has on numerous occasions fainted, been in a coma, been knocked unconscious, dehydrated almost to the point of death, and has "disappeared" with no recollection of where he was, all in the line of duty, Mr. Mulder reports no dizziness, fainting, or discomfort in the chest, arms, or jaw during exertion. He has no history of diabetes.
His mother recently passed at the age of 59, a number of years after a stroke. Mulder's father is a heavy smoker and often smokes when they meet.
Exercise History
Mulder reports that he enjoys exercise and considers himself self motivated (fig 2). When he can find the time or is having trouble sleeping he will go on runs to destress and sometimes uses it to help him work through problems at his job but he rarely feels like he has the time, or it might be "unsafe" to leave the house or hotel he is staying at for work. He estimates that he probably only works out for about 1 hour total a week. He has enjoyed baseball since he was a kid and has always admired that athleticism and wished he could feel confident enough to play in a recreational league.
Personal Life
When asked about his life outside of work, Mulder reports not having much opportunity for socializing and tends to work late, ending his days in front of the t.v, eventually falling asleep on the couch.
Criteria for Success
I will be looking to see that you are writing your answers similar to if you were explaining the clients needs to a colleague. The goal would be for one of your classmates to read your responses and be able to quickly understand the needs of the client. Since we are referencing the clients information you will not be required to cite for this assignment unless you are pulling in an outside resource. You will be assessed based on our rubric and completeness of all prompts required for the assignment. For tasks involving calculations you will also be assessed on accuracy. You must reach a satisfactory level on each task to complete this assignment.
Helpful Resources
Example CVD Risk and Pre-Participation Screen Links to an external site.
Example HR zone calculations Links to an external site.
Example S.M.A.R.T Goal Links to an external site.
For our case studies we use a rubric that assess wether you have applied your knowledge and creative thinking to the case at hand. Your score for each item in the rubric is tallied to form your final score. I will provide comments, questions, and feedback to guide your learning. When you get that feedback you can use it to study or to resubmit to practice applying these skills and get a better grade. I take the highest score that you earn from the rubric. Because of how I want you to use my feedback, I won't be able to accept resubmissions once we are 1 week out from finals week. That is to make sure I have time to give you the feedback you need to be successful.
Find Rubric